Crossover III: Nemesis
by AriaRose7
Summary: After the recent events in Evalius, Aria tries to help Vanessa and Kendal maintain their renewed friendships as the girls relive the trauma of their eighth grade year, which caused them to split. Meanwhile, someone from the other world plans on using the girls' bitterness to their advantage.
1. Prologue

___A/N: Hello readers and welcome to the third part of my Crossover series. I just want to let you know before you read this you should read:  
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_Crossover: Another World  
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_Crossover II: Evalius  
_

_Prologue_

Without a single cloud in the sapphire sky, and the sun's rays beaming down on a warm summer day, Aria could not think of a better day to be at the pool. This was perfect since their eighth grade back to school party just happened to be on this day. Aria followed her two best friends to the lounge chairs just beside the pool in the sun. All three of the girls' mothers prepared to head to the tables under the green umbrellas.

Mrs. Cooper turned to her daughter, pulling out a bottle from her bag. "Vanessa, make sure you put on plenty of sun block. You don't want to get burned."

"Yeah, okay Mom," Vanessa mumbled, taking the sun block.

"Oh, that reminds me, Kendal," Mrs. Lewis said suddenly turning back and handing her daughter several dark brown bottles. "Here, sweetie, so you can work on your back to school tan."

"Thanks Mom," Kendal muttered, as she dug around in her own bag.

As the mothers started to walk away, Aria called out to her own, "Mom, should I put on any sunscreen?"

Elizabeth shrugged and handed her a small bottle. "If you feel its necessary."

As the mothers walked over to their tables, Aria just tossed the bottle of sunscreen under her lounge chair. She figured if her mother was not going to harass her about putting on sun block, she would not bother. Instead, she turned over to her friend with straight shoulder length blonde hair, who currently sprayed her flesh with tanning oil.

"Hey Kendal," Aria asked, covering her forehead with her hand, "can I try some of that when you are done?"

"Yeah, sure," Kendal replied as she finished patting some on her legs. "First, can you help me rub it on my back?"

Kendal sat down on the front of Aria's lounge chair, handing her the bottle. As Aria sprayed the oil on her friend's back, Vanessa turned in her own chair and asked, "Does that have any sun protection because if it does I think I would rather use it than the crap my mom gave me."

Kendal looked up as she thought. "I think so. Its some sort of special brand my mom bought while she was in California this summer." She stopped for a moment to chuckle. "I should let her know next time she goes she will need to buy enough tanning oil for three people."

Vanessa laughed along and added, "Well, your mom seems to be the only one concerned with helping you get a tan."

"Yeah, my mom doesn't seem concerned about my skin at all," Aria mumbled.

"That's just because my mom used to be a model back in the day," Kendal explained, casually, and muttered, "Personally, I think she cares a bit too much about my appearance." She then turned her body back to face her other friend. "Also, Aria, I don't remember you ever getting sunburned and you never wear sunblock."

"She could at least help me find good tanning lotions like your mom does," Aria said as she rubbed the oil on her skin. "Does this stuff really work?"

"It's been working for me. I've been using it all summer."

Aria observed her friend's perfectly bronzed skin. Ever since they became friends, she had secretly wished she could be as pretty as Kendal and maybe have just a fraction of her confidence.

Vanessa lowered her sunglasses and looked over to the side of the pool and grinned. "Hey Kendal, I saw Ian looking at you again."

Kendal barely tilted her head in that direction and sighed. "There are plenty of other girls he could have been looking at."

"He was definitely looking at you," Vanessa insisted and then turned her head and asked, "Come on, he's cute and he likes you. I think you should go talk to him."

Kendal just remained seated and huffed. "I don't know if he is really my type."

Vanessa raised her eyebrow. "Seriously, he's good looking, athletic, and nice. How is that not your type? Besides, you need someone nice."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Kendal demanded giving her friend a sharp look.

"Just that you can sometimes be, uh…" Vanessa turned to her other best friend, "Aria, what's the nice word for it?"

"Um…" Aria thought quickly. "Authoritative?"

"Eh… Close enough." Vanessa turned back to Kendal. "You can be authoritative."

For a moment Kendal looked as though she were about to snap but then just shrugged. "So you are saying I need someone nice who will actually listen to me."

"Exactly," Vanessa confirmed.

Kendal laughed. "Well, I guess if you put it that way, but I could not do that to Aria."

"What do you mean?" Aria looked over, puzzled, as she finished applying the tan oil. "I don't have a problem with Ian… just Derek."

"Right, speaking of Derek…" Kendal turned in her lounge chair to look at Aria directly. "We are not going through another year of this. You need to learn to stand up to him. This year, you will go right up to him and give him a piece of your mind."

"Wait, I… uh, have to?" Aria shot Vanessa a brief baffled glance.

Kendal pounded her fist into her hand. "Yes, you have to."

"Aria, I think you might be confused," Vanessa interjected. "I know it sounds like she is telling you what to do, but I think she's just trying to give you advice."

Kendal rolled her eyes and pointed out, "You know you two would be a lot happier if you just did what I said."

"You mean you would be happier." Vanessa tilted her head as she considered, "Though in this case I do agree you. Aria would be happier if she listened to you."

Kendal smiled, satisfied, and turned to Aria. "So, are you going to do it?"

"You know that's a lot harder for me," Aria let out a breath and then smiled. "I might try though if you go talk to Ian."

"That is completely different. I am not afraid to talk to Ian," Kendal said in exasperation, as she leaned forward to pick something off the ground. "I just don't want to lead him on unless I am sure I like him."

"Kendal, don't pick that up!" Vanessa warned, sitting up straighter. "That's penny is tails up. It's bad luck."

Once again, Kendal rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, Vanessa, picking up a penny is not going to give me bad luck. You have seriously got to let go of these superstitions."

Vanessa shrugged and leaned back in her chair. "Okay, but I'll warn you, last time I accidently picked one up I couldn't find my History homework."

"You lose your homework all the time," Kendal reminded her, as she dropped the penny in her coin pouch and stood up. "Whatever, I'm going to get a snow cone."

"Can you get me one too?" Vanessa asked, barely turning her head.

Kendal stopped and turned around. "Sure, what flavor do you want?"

Vanessa halfheartedly shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. What do they have?"

"Why don't you come with me and see for yourself?" Kendal replied her tone growing impatient.

"Nah," Vanessa leaned back more in her chair, "I'm too comfortable. Just surprise me."

"You are so lazy," Kendal muttered and then added with more volume, "Fine, but you better be happy with whatever flavor I get for you. Aria, do you want anything?"

Aria shook her head. "No thanks. I'm fine."

As Kendal walked off, Vanessa turned her head to her other friend and asked, "Are you sure you don't want something cold? It's pretty hot."

"I'm okay," Aria replied, lifting up her hands. "Besides, I think my hands are too oily to hold anything now. Do I look any tanner yet?"

Vanessa lifted her sunglasses, her eyes scanning Aria's body. "Honestly, you don't look any different."

"I thought Kendal said that stuff was supposed to…" Aria began to complain until her eyes caught sight of something more interesting. "Hey, look! I think Ian going to go to talk to Kendal."

Vanessa sat up straighter in her chair, excitedly. Aria moved over to that same lounge chair and the two girls watched Ian Harris, in his forest green swim suit, and gradually walk over towards Kendal's path.

"Oh, my god, he's almost to her," Vanessa squealed. "I wonder if he will immediately ask her out."

"I don't know," Aria commented, more on the edge of the seat. "I think he's about to say something!"

Whatever Ian's intentions may have been, the girls never found out for at the last minute, he seemed to lose his backbone. Instead, he quickly grabbed a float from the pool in pretense that was the reason he went over there. Meanwhile, Kendal brushed passed him taking no notice of his nearby presence.

"Aw," Aria sighed, as she returned to her own lounge chair. "He was so close."

"I know." Vanessa let out a huff and leaned back in her chair. "I bet if she hadn't picked up that penny he would have talked to her."

Aria laughed. "Yeah, maybe." She then leaned back in her chair on her side and let out a heavy breath. "This is going to be her year, isn't it? I mean, whether or not Ian ends up asking her out, Kendal will probably have a boyfriend sometime in eighth grade."

"Probably." Vanessa shrugged more indifferent on the matter. "It's not like Ian is the only guy who has ever acted interested in her."

Aria turned over on her back and stared out on to the pool water. "Do you think either of us will have a boyfriend by the end of this school year?"

Vanessa leaned back, resting her head on her arm and sighed. "Honestly, there is not a single guy in our school I would even consider dating." She then looked over to her friend, curiously. "Is there someone you like here?"

"I don't know," Aria replied, vaguely. "I doubt there is anyone in the school that likes me."

"What about that boy in Band you told me about last year?" Vanessa suggested. "The one that sometimes helped you with your homework or whatever."

"Oh, Walter?" Aria recalled, tilting her head over to look at her friend. "We're just friends. I don't think he is really interested in me in that way."

"He might be. You never know." Vanessa replied as she sat up straighter and looked her best friend firmly. "You really just need to act more confidant, Aria. That's what really gets guys' attention. I mean, look at Kendal." She pointed over in Kendal's direction but then her jaw dropped and she huffed. "Why is she talking to Dean Jackson of all people?"

Aria looked over, curiously, to Kendal laughing with the tall lanky boy. "What's wrong with Dean?"

"He's a complete arrogant jerk," Vanessa muttered, darkly. "Everyone knows he strictly goes by looks when it comes to girls. Also, he's a Leo. Most of them are arrogant."

Aria sighed. "You are probably going to have to give Kendal some better evidence than the month he was born in."

Vanessa groaned, leaning back in her chair. "Or she could just take my advice for a change instead of assuming she is always right."

Aria gazed back over to Kendal and Dean, who still appeared to be enjoying blithe chitchat. She could not tell whether Kendal was interested in perusing a relationship with him or not. After all, her blonde haired confident friend chatted with several guys on a daily basis.

"I'm going to go get a frozen yogurt," Vanessa announced, rising up the moment her eyes spotted the frozen yogurt booth to the right of the pool. "Be right back."

"Okay," Aria replied, briefly wondering if Vanessa changed her mind about the snow cone or simply forgot about it.

Now alone, Aria took a moment to examine her arms and let out a frustrated huff, seeing that they did not appear any tanner. She leaned over the side of her chair and picked up the tanning lotion that had rolled out of Kendal's bag to examine it. She moved her eyes from the bottle to her friend, who still remained across the pool chatting with Dean. Kendal claimed this lotion was the only thing she had used all summer. Aria could clearly tell that it worked quite well on her, seeing that she had gone at least four shades darker. She almost swore she saw a difference in Kendal's skin tone just from this afternoon. Aria wondered why it did not have the same effect on her own complexion.

Aria then decided to give up on her summer tan and spend the rest of the day relaxing. Just as she leaned back in her chair, making herself more comfortable, she sensed someone approaching behind her. A strange tingle shivered in her spine.

"Hey Aria, look!" a male voice came from her right side.

She turned her head to see Derek with his hand out. In it, he held a slimy, black worm swaddling in the center. Aria shrieked as he dropped it on her chair. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash and realized one of Derek's buddies had taken a photo of her reaction.

"Derek, you jerk!" Aria shouted after him, flinging the worm in his direction. The little rodent did not land anywhere near him.

"What happened?" Vanessa asked, walking back, licking her cone filled with frozen yogurt.

Aria leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed, glaring in the boys' direction. "Derek is what happened."

Vanessa sighed, falling back in her chair. "What did he do this time?"

Aria pointed at the worm, now rolling on the ground beside the pool. "He put _that_ on my chair."

"Gross," Vanessa commented, and then turned her head to Aria. "Now, will you consider taking Kendal's advice?"

Aria let out a haughty breath as she turned to glare in the boys' direction. Derek and Harry, the boy with the camera, were currently laughing at the surprise photo they had taken of her. Aria did notice when Derek showed the photo to Ian, he barely offered a smile, not nearly as amused.

"Do you think if Ian and Kendal did start dating, Derek would have to be nicer to me?" Aria asked, leaning back in her chair to get more comfortable.

Vanessa shrugged. "I suppose he would have to or it might ruin his friendship with Ian. Too bad we can't get Kendal interested in him."

"Well, if she is not, you said a lot of nice things about Ian earlier," Aria reminded her. "Maybe you should ask him out."

"I can't really picture the two of us as a couple. Besides, what if Kendal realizes she does like him, as I predict she will. Can you imagine the hell that would break out if Kendal and I liked the same guy?"

Aria shuddered. "I don't even want to think about that possibility."

"What is that?" a shrill tone demanded from behind Vanessa.

Both Vanessa and Aria looked up in the direction of the sun to see a fairly annoyed Kendal hovering above, with two snow cones in her hand.

"What is what?" Vanessa asked, holding her hand above her head to block the sun.

With the snow cone still in her hand, Kendal gave a harsh point towards the frozen yogurt in Vanessa's hand. "That! Did you forget I was bringing you a snow cone? What am I supposed to do with it now?"

Vanessa glanced at the snow cone and then shamefully down at her own cone of frozen yogurt. "Oh…oops."

"I'll take it," Aria suggested, reaching her hand into her bag. "I was starting to want something cold anyway. How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it," Kendal replied and then shot Vanessa another annoyed look. "Aria actually offered to pay for her cone. See how much more considerate she is of others?"

Vanessa just rolled her eyes. "Oh, for God's sakes Kendal, I'm sorry! Besides, it wasn't all my fault anyway. You spent nearly half an hour talking to Dean _Jerkson,_ I thought you forgot."

"His name is Dean Jackson, Vanessa!" Kendal snapped back. "And, he was just asking me if I planned to be on the cheerleading squad this year."

Vanessa snorted. "I bet when you told him yes, he suddenly got _that_ much more interested in you."

"You really shouldn't be so quick to judge people, Vanessa. Besides, it doesn't matter beside I am not interested in Dean in that way." She sighed and then turned her head to Vanessa. "Look, can we just talk about something else, something we actually agree on?"

Vanessa turned her head to consider. "What would that be?"

Kendal opened her mouth but no words escaped. Instead, she started giggling and within moments her friends joined her.

_Thank God,_ Aria thought privately, as she had been praying their fight would not break out into anything serious.

Once Kendal stopped laughing she turned her head back to Vanessa and said, "Hey, speaking of cheerleading I was thinking maybe you would want join the squad this year. After all, there are no try-outs in eighth grade so anyone can join."

Vanessa made a face, not particularly sharing her enthusiasm. "Me, cheerleading? Yeah, I can't really see myself doing that."

"Why not?" Kendal persisted, sitting on the side of her chair facing Vanessa. "You're athletic. You would be good at it. Besides, I don't know anyone else on the squad."

Vanessa chuckled. "Since when are you, of all people, shy?"

"It's not that I'm shy," Kendal pointed out. "It's just that I think it would be nice to have someone I know join the squad with me."

"Don't worry, Kendal. I'm sure within five minutes you will get comfortable enough around those girls to start telling them what to do," Vanessa said, unable to hide her grin. "Also, why are you only going after me? Why can't you ask Aria to join?"

"Uh, because I sometimes stumble over just when walking around," Aria answered for her. "Can you imagine me trying to do some of those moves cheerleaders do?

"Also, she's in Band so she wouldn't be able to cheer at any of the games anyway," Kendal added, as her eyes lit up, more firm on her idea. "This will be great if you join! That way, all three of us can participate in the games somehow!" She then looked at her friend even more pleadingly. "Come on, Vanessa, please! I promise it will be a lot of fun. Just give it a chance."

Vanessa paused for a moment to think and then let out a lengthy sigh. "Oh fine. I'll try it, but if I hate it, there is no way you are making me try out in high school, okay?" As Kendal nodded, Vanessa asked, reluctantly, "So how do I sign up?"

Kendal smiled, gratefully as she leaned back in her chair to relax. "Oh, don't worry about that. I already signed you up."

_A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed the prologue. Just so you know, this prologue was just a flashback. The rest of the story will pick up where part II left off and any future flashbacks will appear in italics. _


	2. Chapter 1 Preparations for the Dance

_Chapter 1_

_Preparations for the Dance_

_Aria sat in the middle of a room with a wooden floor on a stool in front of a long rectangular mirror. Everything else in the room was a blur, except for her reflection. She hung her hair over her shoulder to brush it, her eyes fixated on her reflection. In the mirror, her eyes were pure black like two holes of abyss. This did not bother her for Aria sat calmly, continuing to stroke her hair with the brush, until the hand holding her hair felt syrupy. She gazed down and found that her hands were covered in blood and gasped. Slowly, she then peeled her eyes from her own limbs moving them back towards her reflection. The moment her eyelids briefly dropped, he appeared, Lord Argarion. _

In screams, Aria shot up to a seated position, immediately gazing about her surroundings. She would not yet call her current location home but at least she awoke in the same place she fell into slumber, the palace in Galatia. Aria realized this was the third time this week she had this kind of dream. She wanted so desperately to forget about that traumatizing day in Evalius but it remained vivid in her mind. Not only did she nearly lose her two best friends, she had also been forced to take a life herself. Aria thought about how simple slaying evil it appeared in standard fairy tale stories. In reality, that was not the case. She remembered how her blood ran cold that day and her body was in constant shivers. Aria never wanted to feel that way again.

Trying to push these thoughts to the back of her mind, Aria climbed out of bed, throwing on her red silk robe and went to see what everyone was up to. Since today was Sunday, Adora would take her back to her world to begin her next week in school. If not for her adoptive parents, friends, and boyfriend, Aria would have no desire to go back, especially since once she returned, she would have to spend the rest of the day getting caught up with her homework.

Aria opened her bedroom door and stuttered down the hall, rubbing her eye. Just as she begun to wonder where Adora was she heard the voice of just that fairy. The princess tiptoed to the room the voices came from and tipped the door open a crack so listen better.

"Are you sure this land is something for us to worry of?" Adora asked. "I mean it is not an evil land as Evalius is."

"It may not be evil," Verna explained in a heavy tone, "but it is unpredictable and I can sense something from there."

"Do you think it will affect us?" Thelma asked.

"I know not," Verna sighed and then turned her head back to Adora. "You must inquire the princess on what we talked about soon. Perhaps it will help."

The red-haired fairy shook her head. "We should leave Princess Aria out of this. She has already been through enough in Evalius and that was barely a month ago."

Aria pushed the door open wider, revealing her presence. "Ask me what?"

The fairies all turned startled by her appearance. Verna then motioned for them to curtsy and announced. "We should go." She waved her hand. "Thelma, Freya, let us depart."

In a poof, three fairies were gone, leaving Aria and Adora alone. The fairy looked down, hesitant to begin.

Aria decided to take it upon herself to start. "So what did Verna want you to ask me?"

Adora sighed, briefly putting her hand to her head. "Oh, it was nothing big. She just wanted to know if there was a possibility you knew of Edmund's current whereabouts."

Aria shrugged. "I have not seen him since that day in school. I honestly have no idea." She then shot Adora a look of concern. "Why, do you think he might be up to something?"

"We cannot be sure," Adora answered. "Verna says she would feel better if she knew where he was just to be sure he cannot cause any more trouble."

"What will happen if he is found?" Aria asked, taking a step closer to the fairy.

As much as Aria wanted Edmund to be stopped from any future evil he may do, she still could not help but remember what was planned for Myrtle before. The main problem she had with this world and the people here saw everything black and white and believed all evil should be slain, no exceptions. Recalling how disturbed she was in Evalius by the Argarion's death, Aria did not ever want to witness another person die.

Adora looked into her eyes as though she could read the princess's thoughts. "It is nothing for you to worry about." She then brushed by the side desk, grabbing an envelope. "This came for you by the way."

Even though it was quite obvious Adora was going to an immediate subject change, Aria sighed and took it. "What is this?"

"It is an invitation to Princess Snow White's Tea Party," Adora answered brightly. "They are usually pretty big events. There is music, dancing, and lots of food. It might be something you and your friends would be interested in."

"Yeah, maybe." Aria looked down at the letter. She honestly could not picture any of her friends getting all that enthused about a tea party, but if it is as Adora described they might have a good time. Also, Vanessa in Kendal got along a lot better in this world. Aria was still not exactly sure how it works here but something about this world, at least this part of it, brings out pleasant feelings. Her friends were improving back home. At least, they were no longer throwing drinks in the other's face or kissing each other's boyfriend. Aria supposed that was something, though she could still sense quite a bit of bitterness around the two.

"Wait a second," Aria said, looking closer at the date. "This is the same weekend as the Valentine's dance. I don't think I can come."

"It's on a Sunday," Adora answered, briskly. "Are your dances not usually on Saturday?"

"You're right." Aria tilted her head to consider. "I suppose we could do both that weekend. As long as there is no drama it should be fine."

Adora smiled. "As long as they are here, their feelings of true love will be the strongest emotion." She then appeared slightly concerned. "You might want to warn them about that. You do remember what it was like for you and Derek on your first visit to this world?"

"Too well," Aria muttered, recalling how she spontaneously flew to his arms and kissed him passionately. Normally, she would never do something like that, even now when dating him. Her limbs grew cold as the thought of asking him to the dance. Aria knew she was being ridiculous and that Derek would definitely say yes. She just could not help but feel nervous. Needless to say, Sadie Hawkins was not her favorite dance.

"Well," Aria said as she began to turn, "I should probably get my stuff together so we can leave this afternoon."

"Okay," Adora agreed with a beam. "I will be ready to take you home in about an hour." Just as Aria started to walk away she called, "Oh, and Aria… During your time here you are giving thought to your final decision on your future, right?"

Aria stopped walking and paused to take in a deep breath as she turned to give the fairy her best lie. "Of course I am."

xXx

The 3rd period bell rang and Aria realized she had not paid any attention to Mr. Mosbey's History class. Usually, at the beginning of each semester, Aria vowed to try harder in all her classes, but this time she did not even bother with that commitment. The events of last semester still freshly consumed her mind. She could tell it had the same affect on her friends though they rarely discussed the details. Aria did make an effort to convince Vanessa to have a low key sweet sixteen last week, since she and Kendal both nearly died on their birthdays. Seeing that her birthday occurred on January 13, which happened to fall on a Friday this year, her superstitious friend was more than happy to oblige.

"So I forgot to ask earlier," Derek said as he, Aria and Ian walked out of the classroom, "how was your weekend in Galatia?"

"It was alright," Aria replied without much enthusiasm.

"There are not any balls I don't know about, are there?" Derek asked, shooting a grin in her direction.

Aria could not help but smile. "No, I promise." She paused to consider whether or not to bring up the event Adora mentioned. "There is a Tea Party hosted by Snow White on the Sunday after the Sadie Hawkins dance. Adora said I was invited and could bring friends if you wanted to go."

"I'll go if you want me to," Derek replied, though he did not sound to keen on the idea.

Ian, on the other hand, looked at Aria eagerly. "Wait, so if we go, we would get to go into the fairy tale world again, right?"

Derek peered at his friend, startled by his enthusiasm. "Well, yeah, but dude, it is for a tea party."

"Yeah, you really do not have to come if you don't want to," Aria chimed in.

Ian shook his head and insisted. "Are you kidding? It will perfect for a date. Kendal will love it! I'm going to go tell her about it right now."

As he darted down the hall, Derek stared after him in disbelief but then shrugged. "Well, I guess that means we are going."

"Are you okay with that?" Aria asked, looking up at him.

He put his arm around her. "Yeah, of course. Besides, you actually seem less enthused than I am. Is something wrong?"

Aria sighed. "Not really. It's just that every time I go there now, I keep thinking about how I will eventually have to make the decision on whether or not I want to live there."

"Yeah," Derek appeared slightly discomforted. "That is going to affect our relationship, isn't it? Are we going to have to discuss it soon?"

"I don't have to make my decision for another two years," Aria pointed out. "We don't have to talk about it now."

"Whew," Derek let out a relieved breath as he squeezed Aria tighter. "Did I ever tell you that you are the best girlfriend a guy can ask for?"

Aria giggled as she hugged him and then without thinking, blurted out, "Do you want to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me?"

Derek paused, caught off guard, but then nodded, grinning. "Of course I do."

Aria let out a sigh of alleviation that she got this part over with. It was not that did not want to go with Derek. The actual asking part was just difficult for her. At the beginning of the school year, the thought of her asking a boy to the dance would have been unthinkable. Aria did feel that she has grown a bit more in confidence. Perhaps in a couple years, she will be ready to rule a kingdom.

xXx

"For God's sake, Vanessa!" Kendal stammered as she shoveled her books into her locker. "I am not giving the answers to our geometry homework."

"I didn't ask you for the answer," Vanessa protested, holding up their homework assignment. "I was just asking a question."

Kendal slammed her locker door and eyed her. "And you question just happened to be word for word, the same as the first question on our geometry homework?"

"Are you going to help me or not?" Vanessa demanded. "I thought we were supposed to be friends again."

Kendal let out a huff and grumbled, "Yes, and I am just remember how much you use to drive me crazy with this. Why can't you just ask Walter to help you?"

"Because I want him to think I am getting smarter and able to do my homework assignments by myself."

Kendal raised her eyebrow. "Well, have you actually tried doing it by yourself? You know the book has examples that look exactly like our homework problems."

"Yeah, I can't find my book," Vanessa muttered and when Kendal just stared at her in disbelief, she defended, "What? It's not my fault I can't find it."

Kendal placed her hands on her hips. "Actually, yeah, it kind of is."

"Well, I can't do anything about it now," Vanessa protested, waving the sheet of paper in the air. "I need to get this done before Geometry, _today!"_

"Good luck with that," Kendal muttered, as she began to blow off.

"You are so much more helpful to Ian when he comes to you," Vanessa complained in frustration.

Kendal turned around and stormed back over to Vanessa. "You want to know why? That's because Ian actually tries first, and unlike some people, he doesn't always lose his textbooks! And also, you always…"

"Hey Kendal!"

"What?" Kendal whirled around, hotheadedly, loosing control of her tone.

Ian, who had just walked up to them, appeared completely unaffected by her tone. "There was something I wanted to ask you."

Kendal took in a breath, forcefully calming down. "What it is, Ian?"

"Well…" Ian briefly scratched his head. "There is this tea party Aria got invited to in the other world, and she is allowed to bring friends so I was wondering if maybe you would like to go with me as a date?"

Vanessa just stared at him, blankly, while Kendal asked, "A tea party?"

"Yeah, well, Aria said it would be a pretty big event since Snow White is hosting it, and since it's in the fairy tale world I thought it would be pretty romantic for a date."

Kendal thought for a moment and then smiled. "You know, that does sound really nice, Ian. I would love to go."

Just as Kendal took his hand and they prepared to walk away, Vanessa demanded, "Wait, what about my homework?"

Kendal just turned around and sighed. "You know what, I am actually in a good mood again so I am not going to test my patience. Just get Walter to help you."

As the two began to turn, Ian asked, "Oh, hey Kendal, I still can't find my biology book so can we share during class?"

Kendal let out a heavy breath as Vanessa smirked. "Yeah, sure Ian, we can share."

While Vanessa watched them walk a few steps further, Ian also asked, "Also, can I see your homework to…uh, check my answers?"

As Kendal agreed, Vanessa rolled her eyes and muttered, "That's the same crap I used to pull on Walter."

"And what crap would that be?"

Vanessa jumped around to find her boyfriend standing right behind her, one hand behind his back.

"Oh nothing," she answered, quickly. "Kendal just is being a lot more helpful with Ian on his homework than me."

"Why didn't you just come to me?" Walter asked. "You know I don't mind helping you."

"I just thought you would be tired of it by now," Vanessa mumbled, letting out a sigh. She could not help but think that life, including her relationship, would be a lot easier if she were smarter.

"No, of course not." Walter smiled as he took a step closer to her. "But first, there is something I wanted to ask you." He pulled out a pink rose from behind his back. "Vanessa Cooper, will you go to the Sadie Hawkins Dance with me?"

Vanessa beamed as she began to hug him. "I'd love to… wait, Walter, you do realize the girls are supposed to ask the guys to this dance?"

He only shrugged. "Yeah, well, I figured since you were the one who asked me to Homecoming, I would get this one. Next year, we'll get it right."

"That's so sweet." Vanessa moved in closer as the two began to kiss. This resulted in several hoots and hollows from classmates passing by, while some merely muttered, 'get a room.'

Vanessa pulled away and grinned. "I think we have drawn enough attention to ourselves."

"You are probably right," Walter agreed, returning the grin. "So which homework problem did you need help on?"

Vanessa sighed, holding up her blank Geometry paper. "All of them."

xXx

Lighting the very last candle, Kendal placed the lighter next to the lamp on her night table. She then glanced at the mirror and fluffed some of her soft brown curls in front of her shoulders and applied some last minute lip-gloss. At the sound of the doorbell, she briefly brushed her hands against her short pink-laced dress and went down to answer it, knowing just who it would be. Sure enough, there stood her boyfriend, wearing an ocean blue button up shirt.

Ian grinned. "You said you had something important to ask me?"

Kendal returned the smile, holding out her hand. "Follow me."

Ian took her hand and Kendal led him, gradually, up the stairs towards her bedroom. As the couple entered, Ian took a moment to observe the candle lit room and appeared rather impressed.

"Pretty nice," he commented with an approving nod.

"Just like you always do." Kendal took her boyfriend's hand, inhaling a nervous breath. "Ian, will you…"

"Hold on a second," Ian interjected with a grin. "Shouldn't you get down on one knee?"

Kendal let out a huff. "Seriously, Ian?"

He just shrugged, clearly enjoying himself. "You always make me do it."

"Fine." Kendal sighed, as she lowered down to her knee. "Ian, will you go to the Sadie Hawkins Dance with me?"

Ian took in a breath, looking around the room.

Kendal squeezed his hand tighter. "Ian!"

"Give me a moment," Ian said and as his girlfriend rolled her eyes, he pointed out, "What? You do the exact same thing to me."

"I do not," Kendal protested.

"Oh, yes you do," Ian proclaimed. "For Homecoming, you left me hanging for ten minutes before you finally said yes."

"It was not ten minutes. Besides, I was just taking a moment to appreciate the scenery around me." Kendal jerked his arm down gently, but hard enough to make him look at her. "Okay, you had your fun. Now, will you just answer the question?"

"You know what the answer is." Ian pulled Kendal up to her feet and kissed her. "I would love to."

After a few moments passed by, Ian asked, "We are not going to have any drama like at Homecoming, are we?"

Kendal sighed, not wanting to think of the last two months of their prior school semester. "I hope not."

_A/N: So here is the first to a series of random poll questions that will appear throughout the story. Who do you think is the cutest couple, or who is your favorite. Go to my profile page and vote now. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!_


	3. Chapter 2 A Cheerleader's World

_Chapter 2_

_A Cheerleader's World_

With just one week before Sadie Hawkins, Aria, Vanessa, and Kendal discussed their dress shopping plans as they made their way to their usual lunch table. Aria mostly listened as Kendal made the plans, trying to keep her mind from wondering. When her thoughts would go astray, they usually went to the place she dreaded, Evalius. It was grievous enough she still had dreams of the place, but sometimes images of what happened would crawl into her mind during the waking hours. Aria never mentioned any of this to her friends.

"Okay, so first we will stop at Sarah's Dress Shop, and then Glimmer Palace, and then the mall," Kendal concluded as the three girls sat down with the boys.

"We're going to all those places today?" Vanessa asked, already sounding exhausted.

"Yes," Kendal confirmed. "The dance is this weekend."

"What if we all find dresses at Sarah's?" Vanessa demanded. "Do we have to go the other places?"

"We each have to find the perfect dress," Kendal pointed out. "It is, after all, a formal dance."

"Only Sheerwood would make Sadie Hawkins formal," Vanessa grumbled, digging her fork into her mashed potatoes.

Aria secretly agreed with Vanessa. It did seem a bit bizarre that this Valentine's dance was formal. She was not even aware of this until Myrtle read it in the announcements last week.

Kendal ignored Vanessa's last remark, instead turning to her boyfriend. "Ian, I need you clean your car today, okay?"

"Aww, do I have to?" Ian groaned.

"Yes, you do," Kendal insisted, as she stirred her peas. "It's starting to get filthy again."

"Fine, I'll clean it this afternoon," Ian agreed with a huff.

Vanessa stared at him in disbelief. "You know do don't have to do what she tells you to do all the time."

"I've been trying to tell him that for two years," Derek muttered.

Ignoring Derek's remark, Kendal's eyes pierced in Vanessa's direction. "Vanessa, this is none of your business."

"It's really not yours either," Vanessa shot back. "After all, it is Ian's car. He should be able to keep it like he wants."

Kendal smacked her hand on the table. "Do you have any idea what that car would look like if I didn't intervene? It would be a complete disaster."

"Still, its not your car." Vanessa shook her head, looking down at her food and muttered, "You have some serious control issues."

For a moment, Kendal looked as though she might somehow vocally strangle Vanessa, but then she took in a breath and shrugged. "You know what? I have my own car now. I guess it's not my problem anymore." She turned her head to her boyfriend. "Ian, you can keep your car in whatever condition you please."

Ian looked at her startled, yet pleased. "Really? Thanks, Kendal!"

"Just don't be surprised if nobody wants to ride with you anymore," Kendal added, digging her fork into her food.

Not discouraged at all, Ian patted his best friend's shoulder. "Derek will ride with me. He always has my back, right Derek?"

"Yeah sure, man," Derek muttered, as he took a bite of his sandwich, not appearing the slightest bit interested in the topic.

"Well, I have to use the restroom," Kendal announced, standing up. She then shot her friends an expecting look. "Hello. Aria, Vanessa?"

"Oh, right." Aria set her sandwich and got up to follow.

As the two girls started to leave, Vanessa set her fork down and groaned, "Not this again."

"Not what?" Walter asked, looking at the girls, confused.

Vanessa turned to face him and ranted, "Every single time Kendal goes to the bathroom, Aria and I are expected to go with her. Every single time! Do you know how old that gets after a while?" She glanced across the table and flung her hand. "I mean, imagine if Ian expected you to go with him to the bathroom every time he went."

"Uh?" Walter shot Ian a brief befuddled look, while Ian just stared at Vanessa blankly, unsure of what to say.

Realizing the awkward situation she created, Vanessa stood up. "Well, on that note, I'll just go."

Without another word, Vanessa followed her friends to the girl's restroom, currently vacant. Kendal stood between the door and the sinks, while Aria leaned against one of the stalls.

"So, what are we going to talk about?" Vanessa asked, sitting up on the sink, looking at Kendal.

"I was just wondering if you both asked out your dates for Sadie Hawkins yet?" Kendal asked, shooting more glances at Vanessa than Aria.

"Yeah, I finally asked Derek out just last week," Aria answered first. "It was sort of a spur of the moment thing, but he said yes."

"That's good," Kendal replied, turning her focus completely to her other friend. "What about you, Vanessa. Did you ask Walter yet?"

Instead of answering her question, Vanessa looked at her sharply. "Why are you so concerned about whether we asked out our dates?"

"Well, we are all kind of going together now, or at least meeting up there," Kendal responded, innocently, and then muttered, "Also, I want to make sure everyone is aware of who they are going with this time."

Aria's eyes immediately fell downward, while Vanessa just stared at Kendal in disbelief. Aria could already fell the tension.

Vanessa leaned back and briefly rolled her eyes. "Really, Kendal?"

"What?" Kendal demanded, pacing gradually, without looking at her.

"That remark was obviously targeted towards me!" Vanessa pointed out in a heated tone.

Kendal stopped and looked directly at her. "Well, it's not like I don't have a good reason."

"And I don't?" Vanessa snapped, as she slid off the sink. "You're the one that smoothed Walter in the cafeteria, or did you forget about that?"

Kendal shrugged, still glaring at her. "So? You were not dating him at the time."

"Yeah, but the only reason you did it was to piss me off!"

"Guys," Aria interjected, with her hand up. "Can we not talk about this? It's over now. Besides, you both seem happy in your relationships now. I really don't think anything is going to happen."

They both looked at her and nodded, silently agreeing to let it go. Aria, however could tell by the glares, this confrontation was not even close to over.

xXx

"I swear, Kendal gets on to me for everything," Vanessa complained, as she and Walter walked towards her locker, holding hands. "All I did was warn Ian that he might have bad luck because he spilled salt, and she accuses me of filling his head with nonsense."

"Well, I guess she just doesn't want him to believe something that has no factual proof," Walter pointed out.

"I'm just trying to open his mind. He usually just believes what she tells him to, which by the way, is the real problem. Kendal's seriously got some control issues. Sometimes it seems like I am the only one who sees it."

"You are trying to be friends with her right?" Walter asked. "It seems like this past week you two have mostly just argued, and just about over every random thing, too."

Vanessa sighed. "I am trying. It's just hard since we really don't agree on anything."

Walter shrugged and pointed out, "Well, you and I don't really agree on anything, yet we're dating."

Vanessa smirked and pretended to walk off. "You know, you're right. I should go find someone who believes what I believe."

Still holding her hand, Walter responded by pulling her in for a kiss.

After a several moments passed, Vanessa smiled and said, "I guess that's how we make it work. I can't exactly do this with Kendal at the end of an argument."

Walter could not help but grin. "Well, you can't know for certain unless you give it a try."

"Walter!" Vanessa playfully smacked his chest. "I swear, Ian and Derek are starting to rub off on you. I should not leave you alone those two."

"Relax, it was just a joke," Walter insisted, as the two began to kiss again.

This time their moment was interrupted by whimpers carrying down the hall.

Walter pulled away and asked, "Did you hear that? It sounds like someone is crying."

Vanessa just put her arms around his neck and shrugged, not ready to lose the moment. "I didn't hear anything."

As the couple began to make out again, the cries grew louder.

Walter stopped and said, "We should probably go see what's wrong. I don't think anyone else is around."

Vanessa huffed. Seeing that it was after school hours, not many students hung around unless they had after school activities.

"Fine, let's go," Vanessa agreed.

Still holding hands, the two walked around the corner to find a young girl with short brown hair pulled up in a ponytail. She sat against the lockers, her head tilted down and her wet eyes red and puffy. The girl appeared as though she had been crying for a while. Beside her, rested two silver and blue pom poms.

"Freshman cheerleader," Vanessa muttered to Walter. "I wonder what those girls said or did to her."

Suddenly appearing hesitant, Walter asked, "Should we ask her?"

Vanessa shot him a look. "You're the one that wanted to go see what was wrong. Now that we're here, we may as well find out."

She strolled over to the sobbing girl. "Hey. Were you at cheerleading practice just now?"

The girl rubbed her eyes and nodded. Vanessa leaned against the lockers beside her, while Walter stood across the hall with his arms folded.

"Did something happen at practice?" Vanessa asked. "If one of those girls said something to you, I could help you come up with a comeback that will send her in even more tears."

Walter frowned and looked at his girlfriend. "Is that really the best way to handle this?"

Vanessa shrugged. "It's not the worst way." She turned back to the young freshman. "So who was it? What did she say?"

"It was Marcy," the girl answered in a choked voice. "There is this new move we learned today and I cannot get it down, and…" her tone grew more cracked as more tears began to flood, "she called me stupid and said if I cannot get it by the end of practice then I am off the squad."

"Marcy Fletcher," Vanessa muttered darkly. "God, I hate that girl. It sounds like she has not changed at all since eighth grade."

"Is she really that bad?" Walter asked her.

Vanessa looked at him and held up her finger. "She makes Kendal look like a pink cuddly care bear, and I still would have said the exact same thing two months ago." She looked back at the girl as she sank down beside her. "So what's your name?"

"Penny," the girl mumbled, sounding calmer.

"I'm Vanessa and that's Walter." As Walter waved a greeting, she continued, "You know, I used to be a cheerleader back in eighth grade. Maybe if you explain to me what the move is I can help you."

Penny rubbed her eyes, yet again, as she rose to her feet to demonstrate the beginning. "It's the Wolves Dominate cheer. I just get confused about half way through it."

"Hey, I think I remember that one." Vanessa, too, stood up. "We did it a version of it in eighth grade, only it was Lions Dominate. That pivot in the middle use to through me off."

Penny nodded, rubbing her cheeks completely dry. "Yeah, it's causing me problems too."

"Well, I can show it to you and then maybe we can then do it together slowly," Vanessa suggested as she began the cheer.

After several tries, the young cheerleader seemed to finally get the move down. She threw her arms in the air gleefully.

"I did it!" Penny rushed over to hug Vanessa. "Thank you so much for helping! I think Marcy would have found a way to get me off the squad. There's a rumor that she blackmailed Karin into leaving."

"Sure, no problem," Vanessa replied, casually, and then gave her a wink. "You know, if you hear of Marcy plotting something, you can always get someone to help you do to her whatever she was planning to do to you. I'm sure there is at least one person on the squad that hates her."

Once again, Walter frowned. "Vanessa, I'm not sure that's the best…"

"Penny, there you are," Kendal's exasperated voice came from down the hall. "I have been looking all over the school for you."

Penny grabbed her pom poms and blissfully skipped over towards her. "Look, Kendal! I can do the cheer now!"

Once she finished, Kendal nodded approvingly. "You see, I told you that you would get it. All you needed was some time. There is no reason to run off crying when can't do a certain move."

Penny lowered her arms and looked down, shamefully. "But Marcy said I would get kicked off the squad if I couldn't get it down."

Kendal sighed and put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Penny, look at me. Marcy is not the captain. I am, and I am not going to kick people off the squad for not being able to do a cheer on the first day we learn it. Now, I need you to go back to practice, okay?"

Penny nodded and started back to practice, but briefly turned around. "Thanks again, Vanessa!"

As she ran off Vanessa shook her head and muttered sarcastically, "Well, I see Marcy is just as pleasant as always. Here's a thought. Since you're the captain, why don't you kick her off the squad?"

Kendal sighed, briefly brushing her hand against her forehead. "I wish I could, but we have the Nebraska Nationals Competition coming up and there is no time to recruit a new freshman and teach her all the moves." Kendal paused for a moment. "Unless, perhaps we could recruit someone who is already familiar with most of the basic moves. Interested?"

Vanessa folded her arms. "Uh, let's see the things I would let happen before I rejoin the cheerleading squad… get my eyeballs pulled out by forks, be dipped head first into lava," she pointed to Walter, "listen to him spend a half hour explaining some boring Biology question." She glanced at him, briefly. "No offense, sweetie. Also…"

"Okay, I get it," Kendal laughed whiled she rolled her eyes. "But it's really not as bad as it was back in eighth grade."

Vanessa continued to shake. "Yeah, it's still not going to happen."

Kendal just shrugged. "Fine." She began to turn around." Well, I should probably get back now. You two have fun."

Once she turned the corner, Walter asked, "So was cheerleading really that bad?"

Vanessa sighed. "Its just not an experience I care to relive."

_(Flashback)_

_ Aria strolled down the hall of Valerian Middle School, swinging her flute case by her side. Her Band practice just ended and she knew in about ten minutes cheerleading practice would also end so she decided to wait so she and Vanessa could walk home together. She found just that friend walking down the hall towards her._

_ Aria waved. "Hey, Vanessa. Did your practice end early?"_

_ Vanessa sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "No, I just left early. That Marcy Fletcher really started to piss me off."_

_ "What happened?"_

_ "Oh, she was just getting onto me for not being able to do a certain move just perfectly and then she goes on to accuse me of being lazy and if I'm not going to put in maximum effort then I should leave," Vanessa went on. "So, in conclusion, I took that opportune moment to get the heck out of there. I think Kendal is still pretty mad at me for ditching though."_

_ "Well, doesn't she see how mean that girl is to you?" Aria asked with a frown._

_ Vanessa rolled her eyes. "She just tries to tell me that it means a lot to Marcy and she's really competitive along with other crap like that. I think cheerleading brainwashes you somehow." She let out a sigh. "Anyway, on top of that, I am getting far behind in homework now, and I really do not want to ask Kendal for help." _

_ "Maybe I can set you up with my friend, Walter, tomorrow at lunch," Aria suggested. "He's really smart and nice. I'm sure he won't mind helping you out."_

_ "Yeah, sure," Vanessa agreed without much enthusiasm. "Hey Aria, do you maybe want to have a sleepover this weekend? I could really use some time to veg out and watch movies."_

_ "That sounds good," Aria replied, brightly. "I'll give Kendal a call tonight and we can work out the time."_

_ Vanessa's face fell, as she took in a breath. "Actually Aria, do you think we can make it just you and me?"_

_ Aria looked at her friend, feeling a strong urge to inquire why and push for Kendal to come to, yet the words did not escape her lips in time. After the moment passed by, Aria simply nodded and mumbled, "Yeah, that's fine with me." _


	4. Chapter 3 Too Much Love in the Air

_Chapter 3_

_Too Much Love in the Air_

The Sadie Hawkins Dance, to Aria's surprise, had no drama whatsoever with the group. Both her friends mostly spent time with their dates and did not start any conflicts with the other. The dance itself, however, turned out to be a dud. The DJ spent half the night struggling with technical difficulties, and several students spent an unnecessary length of time complaining about how the dance should be semi casual rather than formal, like most of the other high schools. Aria tried to make the most of it anyway. She and Derek did dance until the music started sporadically cutting off, and then just went off to the side to talk. Now that night was over, today, the group had the tea party. The six just relegated to the other world and currently rode in a carriage with Adora to Snow White's kingdom.

Adora clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Now, before we arrive, there are a few things we need to go over. First, as some of you know, in this world feelings of love and passion are rather intensified."

Aria recalled when she was first here last fall how she passionately kissed Derek before they even started dating. She was not even sure she liked him at the time. Briefly exchanging glances, Aria could tell Derek's thoughts went to just that place. The rest of the group, however, just looked at the fairy, blankly.

"Is that a bad thing?" Kendal asked.

"Well, considering you all have lives in your world, it could work against that," Adora explained. "For example, you may somehow be granted an estate and feel an overwhelming desire to get married and move there with your true love."

Ian let out a chuckle. "Could that seriously happen?"

Adora shook her head. "Here, anything can happen." She took in a brief breath and added, "There is also one more thing you need to be aware of before we arrive. I know you all are familiar with the story of Snow White and know her fate, but it is vitally important you do not mention any of it to her. It may mess up her story. Just act as though you know nothing, even in the presence of the queen."

"Wait," Aria interjected, having never considered this aspect. "You mean the evil queen will be there at the party?"

The fairy nodded. "Yes, but as long as you act normal, everything should be fine."

"What if something happens while we're there?" Aria asked. "If she's in trouble we can't just let whatever the queen plans happen to her."

Adora sighed. "Nothing should happen today. The magic mirror will not declare Snow White fairest in the land until she turns sixteen, which is not until November of this year. As long as you all just act normal and say nothing of this to Snow White then her story should play out close to how it was written and she will get her happy ending."

The six of them exchanged confused glances, but no one asked any further questions. When the carriage came to a halt, Aria glanced out the window, but did not see a castle. Instead, her eyes fell upon a familiar cottage.

"Isn't that Greg's place," Aria asked, looking at Adora.

Adora nodded. "Yes, I just need to stop by and pick up my wand from repairing."

"What happened to it?" Aria asked.

"Oh, sometimes when a fairy uses her wand for personal gain it starts to backfire," Adora explained, as they got out of the carriage.

Vanessa gawked at her as she slid out. "Seriously? You can't use your own magic to do anything for yourself. That must suck."

"Wait," Aria looked at the fairy as she recalled, "I see Myrtle use her powers for personal gain all the time. Last week when I stayed after school in her classroom to finish a project, she had the papers grading themselves."

"Yes, well… Adora sighed. "Once you turn evil in this world, you can pretty much use your magic for anything you want."

The group made their way to the cottage. Vanessa walked beside Aria and asked, "Do you think if I was a fairy here, I would turn evil because of the whole magic situation?"

As Aria shook her head trying to think of something to say, Kendal shrugged and answered, "Probably."

Vanessa just rolled her eyes in response.

Adora rapped the door, and moments later, the long bearded wizard answered.

Greg beamed as he spoke, "Adora, so wonderful to see you!" He briefly glanced at the group behind her. "What brings you here?"

"I just came to pick up my wand," Adora answered. "We are actually on our way to Snow White's kingdom.

"Ah, yes." Greg opened the door wider. "Well, come on in. Adora, I have your wand in the back here. The rest of you feel free to make yourselves comfortable or have a look around. All I ask is that you do not touch anything."

After the fairy and wizard departed, Ian asked, "So what kind of stuff does a wizard have?"

"He did give me a pretty cool sword to help me slay the dragon the first time I came here," Derek said, taking a look around the room.

Ian grinned at him. "You mean the dragon Aria defeated?"

They all laughed as Derek jestingly nudged Ian's back. Aria looked around, never before having an opportunity to see what this place has. It seemed there was always someone in need of saving. Her eyes caught sight of a room with faint glows shining out from it. Intrigued, she stepped towards the doorway of this room to find that the glows came from tiny bottles of potions, sitting on shelves along the wall. Each potion had a small tag Aria assumed said what the potion was.

Aria grew so entranced by this potions room that she barely noticed the footsteps that came behind her.

"Hey, look at this," Vanessa announced from behind her, pointing at the room Aria gazed in.

Everyone went into the room, looking at all the individual potions. Even though Aria was the first to see this room she was the last to enter.

"Hey, check this out!" Ian grabbed a bottle with yellow fluid. "It says it increases strength. I wonder how well it works."

Kendal walked over next to him. "Ian, put that down. Remember what he said about not touching anything?"

"Oh, come on, babe," Ian insisted. "Just think how much better I would be in football if I were stronger."

"You don't need to be any better," Kendal pointed out. "Besides, if you get any stronger that fast, the couch will just think you're on steroids."

Not ready to give in, Ian added, "Just a little bit would not hurt."

Kendal folded her arms. "You don't know that."

"She's probably right," Walter added. "For all we know, these potions might affect us differently since we were not born here."

Aria looked around thinking. If that were true, then any of these potions should work on her just fine without any strange side effects. She continued to stroll around for something in particular, something to block dreams so she could sleep peacefully. Surely, the wizard had something of the sort.

"Come on," Ian said to Walter. "Wouldn't you feel at least a little tempted to take something that would make you stronger?"

"He beat up a guy nearly twice his size last semester," Derek pointed out. "I think he's doing just fine now."

"And so are you, Ian," Kendal added. "Now, will you please just put it down?"

"Fine," Ian huffed, placing the little bottle back in its place.

Vanessa picked up a corked bottle with purple liquid and looked over at her boyfriend. "Here's something else you probably don't need, Walter."

Just as Aria walked over to look at the potion her friend held, a voice came from behind her, "I see you all have stumbled across my potions room."

Startled, everyone jumped around to see the wizard standing at the doorway. He wore a soft smile. "Do not threat. I am not angry. I do hope nobody actually drank any of the potions."

They all shook their heads. Vanessa looked down to the potion in her hand.

The wizard strolled over beside. "I see you have found one of my newest creations, my intelligence potion. Once drunk, it is supposed to enhance mind growth, causing the person to become more knowledgeable on all matters."

Vanessa held the bottle closer to her. "Does it really work?"

"It has not been tested for side effects yet. Best not risk any now." He looked over to the rest of the group. "Come now, let's wait out in the main room while Adora tests out her wand."

As they migrated out of the room, Kendal turned her head back. "Uh, Vanessa, don't you think you should put that back."

"Oh, right." Vanessa placed the bottle back on the shelf and followed Walter out of the room.

Aria watched her friends leave, but her own feet remained seeded on the ground.

Greg turned around and looked at her, concerned. "Princess Aria, do you not wish to accompany your friends?"

"Actually…" Aria paused, thinking of the best way to phrase this, "There was something I wanted to ask you about, alone."

The concern that filled Greg's eyes grew deeper. "Yes, my princess?"

"It's not much," Aria said, determined to sound casual. "I was just wondering if you had something here that could suppress dreams."

The wizard looked down and nodded. "I see. Do these dreams you wish to suppress come from a painful memory?" When Aria remained silent, he added, "Have you spoken to anyone else of this matter?"

Aria shook her head. "No, I haven't. It's really not a big deal. I have just been having a lot of dreams lately that I would rather not have. Do you have something that can help?"

Greg let out a sigh. "I am afraid I do not have anything for pleasant dreaming at this time, but I do have another vile with the power to block a painful memory. It will still live on in your mind, but it will seem like a distant dream. It will not feel real anymore."

Intrigued, Aria looked into his eyes. If her experience in Evalius no longer seemed real, then that should put a stop to the nightmares.

She nodded, eagerly. "I'll take it."

The wizard walked over to his shelf and picked up a bottle of red liquid. "This is it. Now, before I give this to you, you must understand it is vitally important you drink only a quarter of the bottle each night. Also, you must only consume the potion while in this world and not your own. Your world is not meant for this kind of magic so there could be consequences."

Aria reached her hand out for the bottle. "Yes, I understand."

She took the potion and followed Greg into the room where her friends and Adora awaited her.

"Are you ready to go?" Adora asked.

Just as everyone nodded and began to follow her, Vanessa suddenly said, "Wait, I think I dropped my lip-gloss in the potions room. Let me go get it real quick."

Before anyone had the chance to say anything, she dusted in and returned within moments. No one showed much reaction. Only Kendal shot her a brief suspicious glance but did not say anything.

"Got it." Vanessa held up her lip-gloss for a brief moment before stashing it in her purse. "Lets go to the Tea Party."

xXx

The Tea Party was held out in the garden behind the castle. As Kendal looked around, she found that when she first heard 'tea party,' she did not imagine anything like this. There was an orchestra of musicians playing lively upbeat tunes and a prodigious dance floor in front of it. To one side of this dance floor stood a buffet of pantries, various meats, and just about any kind of fruit. Also, with this being a 'tea

party,' there rested several pots of various teas on a separate table.

Ian squeezed Kendal's hand. "Wow, who would have thought a tea party could top our school dance?"

"I guess it has the advantage of being in a fairy tale world," Kendal muttered in awe.

Kendal's eyes then caught sight of the platform where the royalty sat. In the center throne, sat the queen. She wore a deep red gown with golden trimming. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in an elegant braided up do. Kendal could not help but think this woman was indeed beautiful, but her eyes were intensely piercing.

Ian, too, gazed at the queen, appearing a bit unnerved. "Isn't it weird knowing someone is really bad and not doing anything about it?"

Kendal took in a breath. "As long as we behave like Adora says then everything should be fine." She gazed up in her boyfriend's eyes. "We do not want her to figure out we know about her. Then something bad probably will happen."

Snow White, unlike her stepmother, wore a soft gentle expression full of an immense amount of cheerfulness. She sat beside the queen clapping her hands to the music. The moment her eyes came to the newly arriving group, she dashed over towards them, immediately embracing Aria.

"Princess Aria, I am so delighted you could make it! And you brought your friends!"

As the two princesses pulled away, Aria replied, "Thank you for inviting me. This is really nice."

Snow White turned her head and held out her hand in the direction of the queen. "It is all my step-mother's doing? Isn't she amazing? My father could not have chosen a better wife."

The six of them remained quite with a few brief mutters of 'hmms.'

Snow White, taking no notice of their reactions, grabbed both of Aria's hands and said, "Come, let us dance!"

Each couple spent a significant amount of time on the dance floor. Kendal was surprised to realize she had a great deal of more fun, here, than at the school dance. Feeling a bit exhausted now so she went to the buffet for a quick snack. She reached her hand out towards a red apple that rested with the fruits.

"Hey babe," Ian's voice came from behind her. "Maybe it's better not to eat the apples here."

Kendal gazed down at the apple in her hand. "You don't think…"

Ian took the fruit out of his girlfriend's hand and put it back. "Let's just not risk it. I already almost lost you once." He paused and took in a deep breath before asking, "Do you want to take a walk around the garden?"

Kendal looked at him and nodded. "That sounds wonderful."

The two strolled the garden in silence away from the blasts of the party, holding hands. Kendal noticed Ian's hands felt a bit clammy.

She looked up at him. "Honey, are you alright?"

"Yeah…" He took in a quick inhale. "It's just I have been doing a lot of thinking, since we got here I mean."

"About what?" Kendal asked, softly.

"Just some about what happened last time we were here," Ian replied, solemnly, "and how I almost lost you. I couldn't bare if something like that were to happen again."

"It will not happen again," Kendal said, firmly, squeezing his hand tighter. "I won't let it." She gazed up into his eyes. "You know you don't have to worry."

He nodded and smiled. "I know. Its just that when I thought about it, I realized something else."

"And what is that?" Kendal asked, feeling a slight daze from the pleasurable fairy tale environment.

"I realized I do not want to have a future without you there."

Kendal frowned and asked, slowly, "Ian, where are you going with this?"

Ian took in a deep breath, much longer than the last one, as he gradually turned to face her. He then knelt down on the ground on one knee.

"Kendal Lewis," he began, taking hold of her hand. "Will you marry me?"

Kendal looked down at her boyfriend, kneeling down in front of her. She was sixteen now in high school, not quite the time to think of betrothal. She had her whole future to consider, the college she would go to and the career it would lead to. She did not know where her life would lead her from this moment and if it would even agree with Ian's life in the future. At age sixteen, there was too much uncertainty in the future.

However, at this moment, none of that seemed to matter to Kendal as she replied, "Yes, Ian. I'll marry you."


	5. Chapter 4 Mind Blow

_Chapter 4_

_Mind Blow_

On Monday morning, the day after the dance, Derek walked down the sidewalk towards Ian's car, ready for school. As he got closer, he noticed it smelled like mold. He found out why when he peered into the car. Every inch of it was covered with sweaty clothes and food residue.

"Uh, Dude…" Derek opened the car door, "When was the last time you cleaned this thing out?"

"I don't know," Ian muttered, staring blankly ahead, his face lacking expression.

Derek glanced in the back, his eyes widening. "Is that a rat, nibbling on your sandwich back there?"

Ian sighed as he started the car, still not turning his head. "Yeah, I put the car lid down so it can, uh… air out and it broke so I can't get it back up, so I guess anything can get in at night. Don't worry, it won't bother you."

"Yeah man, I hate to side with Kendal on this, but maybe you should consider cleaning your car out." Derek looked down and saw some barbeque sauce got on his shoe. "You know, maybe a little."

"I guess I'll probably have to," Ian muttered in the same aired out tone.

Derek took his eyes off his feet and took a moment to look at his best friend. His hair appeared ragged, like he just got out of bed. Under his eyes, darkness formed from missed slumber.

"Is… um, everything okay, man?" Derek asked, cautiously.

Ian sighed and shook his head. "I did something really stupid yesterday at the Tea Party."

"What did you do?"

Ian took in a deep breath before answering, "I asked Kendal to marry me?"

Derek could not help but chuckle at this. "Yeah, well I guess I can't say I haven't been there." He paused and added more seriously, "Don't worry, dude, it will blow over. I mean it did with Aria and me."

Ian shook his head. "Trust me, this is different than with you and Aria."

Derek rolled his own head over to look at him. "Really, cause to me, it sounds exactly…"

"She said yes," Ian interjected, throwing him off guard.

Derek stopped, trying to think of what to say next but all he could come up with was a simple, "Oh."

Still in a daze, Ian's eyes remained pointed straight ahead. "Yeah."

xXx

Aria and Vanessa walked into Sheerwood that Monday morning towards their lockers, going about their usual routine.

"I wonder where Kendal is," Aria commented, seeing that their other friend was nowhere in sight since they arrived.

Vanessa shrugged as she opened her locker. "I don't know. I haven't seen any of the guys either."

As the two walked to their lockers, Kendal rushed over to them, her hair blown back and her cheeks flushed.

"Is Ian anywhere around here?" Kendal panted.

"No." Aria shook her head, briefly glancing at Vanessa. "We haven't really seen anyone since we got here."

Kendal nodded, her breath calming. "Good. I need to talk to you. Something happened at the Tea Party."

Aria and Vanessa exchanged uneasy glances, and then Vanessa asked, "What happened? There's not some psychotic villain after one of us again, is there?"

"No." Kendal shook her head as she took in a deep breath. "It's uh… Ian proposed to me there."

The two girls stared at Kendal, blankly, for a brief moment before Vanessa put her hand over her mouth and started laughing.

"It's not funny, Vanessa!" Kendal shrieked at her.

"I'm sorry," Vanessa replied, trying to control her giggles. "But come on. Even you have to admit it's pretty funny."

"It's not funny at all!" Kendal stammered. "This is serious. Ian actually thinks I want to marry him, right now!"

"Wait," Aria looked at her, curiously, "what exactly did you say when he asked you?"

Kendal ran her fingers through her hair. "Well, uh…"

"You said yes, didn't you?" Vanessa answered for her, and then started laughing harder. "Oh my god, this is even better than when it happened to Aria!"

Kendal slammed her hand by her side and stomped her foot. "You know what, Vanessa. If you are not going to take this situation seriously then you may as well leave!"

Vanessa opened her mouth to say something else, but then just shrugged. "Fair enough. I'm going to go find Walter." She started to turn and then added with a jesting grin, "Oh, and if need a Maid of Honor, give me a holler."

"If I have to choose a Maid of Honor now, it would be Aria!" Kendal shot back.

"You want me to be your Maid of Honor?" Aria asked.

"There's not going to be a wedding, Aria," Kendal snapped in frustration, putting her hand on her head. "I don't even know if it's legal to get married at age sixteen in Nebraska."

Still in earshot, Vanessa turned around and pointed out, "Actually the legal age to marry in this state is nineteen, and if younger you would need parental consent. But, if you're under seventeen you're not allowed to get married at all, so I guess you and Ian wouldn't be able to, here."

Both Aria and Kendal just gawked at her.

"Right, I'm supposed to be leaving." Vanessa turned around and added, "Well, good luck."

As Vanessa walked off, Kendal demanded, "How does she of all people know the law so well?"

"I don't know," Aria muttered, staring off in that direction, confused. She then turned her head back to Kendal and asked, "So what are you going to do?"

Kendal let out a huff. "I don't know. It's not that I don't love him, but we obviously can't get married. We're in high school. There is no way it would work out." Kendal started pacing. "How do you go from telling someone you want to marry them back to just dating? That never works!"

"Well, remember what Adora said about feelings of romance being intensified there?" Aria reminded her. "I mean, that could have been where the proposal came from in the first place, and right now, Ian is feeling just as freaked out as you are?"

"You think so?" Kendal asked, hopefully.

"I think you really just need to talk to him," Aria advised.

Kendal took in a breath and nodded. "Okay, but could you find him first and see if he really is feeling the same way I am?"

Aria smiled. "Sure, I'll go look for him."

"Thanks, Aria." Kendal returned the smile. "You really are a good friend. Sorry I snapped earlier."

"It's alright. I understand your frustration." Aria laughed, softly for a brief moment. "I guess I've been in a similar situation."

Kendal laughed too and glanced in the direction their other friend walked off in. "We should get Walter to propose to Vanessa now, so she can see what it feels like."

Aria chuckled briefly and said, "Well, I'll go see if I can find Ian. I guess you should just Homeroom for now."

As Kendal turned around for homeroom, Aria made her way down the hall in search of Ian. She knew he could not be that difficult to find. After, within just minutes, they would all have to go to Homeroom. Sure enough, all she had to do was turn the corner and she spotted both Derek and Ian.

"Dude, you have to go to class, now," Derek was saying. "You'll get in trouble if just skip."

"Ms. Malone wouldn't give any of us detention, would she?" Ian wondered, desperately. "I mean she understands how this fairy tale stuff works."

"I don't know, Ian," Aria chimed in, walking up to the two boys, "even I got detention from her before, remember?"

"Hey, Aria," Ian greeted, dreadfully. "Did Kendal send you?"

Aria nodded. "Actually, she did, and believe it or not, she is just as freaked out, if not more, about this whole thing." She looked into his eyes and smiled. "I think you two really just need to talk this over and everything should be okay."

"So there will not be a wedding?" Ian asked.

"Not unless you both want one," Aria answered.

Ian let out a massive sight of relief. "Okay, I guess I'll go talk to her now. Thanks Aria."

After Ian walked away, Derek and Aria exchanged grins.

"Wow, Adora was not kidding when she said feelings of true love could mess with our heads," Derek commented, letting out a brief chuckle. "Do you think if we had stayed there any longer then they would actually be married?"

"I don't know." Aria sighed in exasperation. "We really do need to be careful when we go there. I mean we were not even in the other world when you proposed. It just had something to do with it."

"That was completely different," Derek argued. "I was trying to save your life since you were determined to put it in danger at the time."

"I was trying to save Kendal from…" Aria paused when her mind made a sudden block. She could not recall the name.

Derek looked at her with concern. "Aria, are you all right?"

Aria briefly tilted her head and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just not talk about this anymore. It's all in the past."

Derek nodded and put his arm around her and the two walked to class. Aria felt a slight discomfort at her sudden memory loss, but at least the potion she swallowed this morning for whatever she wanted to forget seemed to be working.

xXx

Ian and Kendal managed to work everything out during break time after 3rd period. Kendal told Aria, right before Biology, that they ended up laughing about how freaked out they both got. Aria was relieved to hear that, in the end, their relationship went back to normal.

Now, the six of them sat in Biology, waiting for the last fifteen minutes to end so they could go to lunch. Despite that Aria now dated Derek and was, once again, friends with Kendal, she still, out of habit, sat at the same table with Vanessa and Walter. Derek, Ian, and Kendal, sat at the lab table diagonally to the left in front of them.

Mrs. Stevens, their plump little teacher with rounded glasses, was now at the point of their lesson where she would verbally quiz the class on what they should have learned.

"Okay, so the next question I will ask you is about plants, which we discussed at the beginning of today's lesson," Mrs. Stevens began, while walking closer to the student lab tables. "Now, if a plant bends towards the light, which type of tropism is the plant demonstrating? Anyone?"

The only hand that went up in the air was Walter's.

Mrs. Stevens sighed, looking around the room. "Someone besides Mr. Price this time. He has answered the past seven questions." She began to gaze around the room until her eyes fell on Kendal, who was currently painting her nails. "Miss Lewis. Perhaps you could provide me with the answer."

Kendal glanced at the power-point presentation, which displayed the question just asked and replied, "When a plant bends towards the light it is positively phototropic."

Mrs. Stevens stared at her and blinked several times, clearly not expecting the right answer. "Yes, Miss Lewis, that is correct."

Aria had to cover her month to conceal her grin.

Mrs. Steven went to the computer to change the slide as she went, "Now, please put that away, Ms. Lewis. This is a classroom, not a beauty salon, and for God's sake, if you know the answer, please raise your hand." Her brown eyes moved to the left of Kendal. "And will someone please wake up Mr. Harris? This is not naptime either."

Kendal started to gently nudge him, but it took Derek violently shaking to actually wake Ian up. The first thing he did was look at the clock, and then he sunk his head down on his hand, appearing rather disappointed it was not lunch yet.

"Now," Mrs. Stevens returned to her lecture, "the final question is a little more challenging but I do hope some of you will be able to get it."

Aria assumed she meant someone other than Walter.

"What is the scientific name for a fruit fly?" She asked as the question appeared on the front screen.

The teacher eyed the classroom, but nobody raised his or her hands. Aria noticed Walter did not even bother to put his up this time.

Mrs. Stevens let out a brief huff before waving her hand towards Walter. "Alright, take it away, Mr. Price."

Walter opened his mouth, but at first, nothing came out. For several moments, he stared at the question, with squinted eyes, trying to remember the answer but finally shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't know."

"Really?" Mrs. Stevens looked back and forth between him and the question on the screen. "Is it that difficult? I am certain we covered it in class a few weeks ago, didn't we?"

As their teacher went to look over her notes, Aria leaned over towards Walter and asked, "Did we cover that yet?"

Walter shook his head. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I would remember."

At that moment, Vanessa smiled and gradually raised her hand in the air.

When Mrs. Stevens noticed this, she sighed and said, "Miss Cooper, we only have five minutes left of class. If you need to use the restroom, I'm sure it can wait."

"Actually, I wanted to answer the question," Vanessa said, as she lowered her hand back down in front of her.

Mrs. Stevens appeared slightly apprehensive, but nonetheless, nodded. "Very well. What is the scientific name for a fruit fly?"

"Drosophila Melanogaster," Vanessa answered, boldly.

Once again, Mrs. Stevens blinked several times, only now her eyes were wider. "Why yes, Miss Cooper. That is correct."

The entire class shifted their gaze towards Vanessa in shock. Aria could easily understand why. Not once, could she recall her best friend ever raising her hand for something other than going to the bathroom. Also, there was the fact that she knew the answer to something even Walter did not know.

Before anyone had the opportunity to comment, the bell rang for lunch.

Walter turned to face his girlfriend and asked, "How did you know that, Vanessa? Did we cover it in class?"

Vanessa casually shook her head as she packed her books in her backpack. "No. We won't see that information until chapter seventeen so we were not supposed to know it yet."

"Okay," Aria began slowly, as she threw her own backpack over her shoulder. "So how did you know the answer? Did you actually read chapter seventeen?"

Vanessa smiled and shrugged, as Kendal and the guys approached them. "I might have."

"Oh, you are so full of crap, Vanessa," Kendal stated, flatly, and then accused, "You drank that smart potion from the wizard's cottage, didn't you?"

Walter put his hand on his head and shook it in exasperation. "Vanessa, please tell me you did not do that."

Vanessa shrugged. "So what if I did? It clearly worked."

"Do you remember when he said the potion has not been tested yet," Kendal demanded, looking Vanessa right in the eye. "You don't know what kind of side-effects that potion can have."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "I think if there were any side-effects I would have already experienced them by now."

"So do you really know everything?" Ian asked, intrigued.

Vanessa smiled at him. "I think I do. Go on, ask me anything."

Kendal shook her head. "No, Ian, do…"

But Ian just ignored her. "Okay, uh… what is 987 times 56?"

"55,272," Vanessa answered, proudly, in a split second.

"Wow!" Ian checked his calculator and turned to his girlfriend. "She just knew that off the top of her head!"

"Yeah, amazing," Kendal muttered, annoyed.

"I think someone is jealous," Vanessa jested, as they arrived at their lockers.

"Oh, right, I am jealous of someone who is so lazy, she takes a potion so she will never have to put any effort in anything for the rest of her life," Kendal shot back, sarcastically.

Vanessa turned towards her and threw her hands on her hips. "Says the girl who somehow magically knew the answer to a question while painting her nails!"

"I knew the answer because I actually read the chapter on today's lesson last night!" Kendal snapped back, and then turned to Aria and Walter. "We should take her back to Greg so he can make sure nothing is wrong."

"No," Vanessa protested. "You just want him to undo it!"

"She could have a point," Walter intervened, with his arms folded. "We don't know what kind of effect something from that world will have on you."

"She's just jealous, Walter," Vanessa insisted, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I feel fine. Nothing weird is going to happen to me. Besides, this will be great. Just think about it. Now that I am smart, we can actually have an intelligent conversation. I won't need you to constantly help me with homework. We can even get into the same college!"

Walter sighed and looked passed Vanessa. "Aria, you probably know the most about the other world. What do you think we should do?"

Aria shook her head and shrugged, uncertain. "Well, she seems fine, now. Maybe we should give it to the end of the day and if she still hasn't shown any side-effects then she should be okay."

"Great, so it's decided then." Vanessa smiled gratefully to her best friend and then turned her head. "Ian, ask me more questions."

Ian continued to quiz Vanessa well into the lunch period, first starting with long multiplication problems, and then to the challenge questions in the back of the Biology book, he borrowed from Kendal. Aria glanced back and forth between Kendal and Walter, unable to tell which one looked more annoyed. She supposed, at the very least, Walter concealed it better.

"Alright, Ian, that's enough," Kendal said in a forced mellow tone, as he just finished asking her a genetics question. "We get it. She knows everything now. Besides, she should probably give her newly formed brain cells a rest."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "No, Ian. Don't listen to her." She patted her hand on the table. "Keep going."

Ian glanced back and forth between the two girls, clearly stumped on what to do. He then turned to his girlfriend and suggested, "How about just one more, and then I promise we'll stop." When she reluctantly nodded, his eyes moved across the table. "Does that sound okay, Vanessa?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes, yet again, and leaned back in her chair. "Fine, but make it a really good one, something that nobody knows."

"Um, okay." Ian took a moment to ponder one. "If you really know everything then you would know like how the whole universe began and how there are other dimensions. What was it that actually created everything?"

Kendal began to object, "Ian, that is way to much to ask…"

"I know," Vanessa replied in an awed whisper. "I know the truth. Its…"

Before she could answer, Vanessa made a sudden gasp of pain and threw her hand to her forehead.

"Vanessa?" Walter put his hand on her shoulder. "What's happening?"

Vanessa shook her head, her hand still pressed against it. "I don't know. It just hurts."

"Is it just me or is her face getting redder?" Derek asked, looking closer at Vanessa.

"Her head looks bigger, too," Ian added.

"Well, this looks like a side-effect to me." Kendal stood up, looking to Aria. "We should do something before she gets worse."

"Myrtle," Aria stated, glad the former evil fairy still worked at the school. "We should take her to Myrtle. She'll know what to do."

Walter nodded, and stood up, too, and took Vanessa's arm. "Can you stand okay?"

Vanessa nodded, but still needed support, so she put her arm around his shoulder. The six of them left the cafeteria without much notice by their classmates. By the time they reached the hall, Vanessa's pain grew so intense, she could not even walk, so Walter carried her the rest of the way to Myrtle's classroom. When they entered, they found their substitute fairy teacher with her feet on her desk, reading a magazine. Her attention immediately transferred to the group as they burst in.

"What happened?" Myrtle demanded, as her eyes caught sight of Vanessa.

"She drank this potion she got from Greg's," Aria explained, "and it's causing some weird painful side effect."

"I see." She motioned her hand towards the windowed wall. "Well, lay her down on the couch over there, and one of you shut the door."

As Derek closed the classroom door, Myrtle pulled out her wand from her desk drawer and knelt down by Vanessa. The fairy pointed the wand at her head, and it let out a dim golden glow.

"Well, it seems the potion has caused her brain to swell up to an enormous size, much more than the human head is meant to contain," Myrtle explained. "She will need to take something that counter acts what that potion did." She stood up and walked towards the door. "I am going to go to Greg's now and see if he has something." She then muttered, "Hopefully, I can get back in time."

Aria rushed over to Myrtle in panicked breaths and demanded, "What will happen to her if she doesn't take something in time?"

Myrtle placed her hand on the doorknob and turned her head, answering in a hushed tone, "She could die."

_A/N: Hey guys. I want to apologize for the long delay. I blame my job there. Anyway, at least this chapter was longer. In fact, this is the longest chapter I have ever written for any story. Also, if you have a spare moment, I would really appreciate some feedback. Nothing much, maybe just a little something you like/dislike. Who's your favorite character now. Is is a different person than from the first part of the series? Something like that maybe. Thank you all for reading! I hope to update sooner next time. :) _


	6. Chapter 5 Unexpected Plans

_Chapter 5_

_Unexpected Plans_

Myrtle walked up the dusted path that led to the small cottage melded within light green straw grass. She rapped the door and waited for the wizard to answer. The moment Greg opened the door, he hurdled back, startled.

"Myrtle!" He gasped. "What are you doing here? What do you want with me?"

"Hello, Gregory," Myrtle greeted, pleasantly. "Are you going to invite me in?"

He shook his head, clinging to the door. "No, but I expect you will come in anyway."

"You're right there," Myrtle muttered, as she stepped inside the cottage.

Greg shut the door, looking at the fairy with terrified eyes. "Are you planning to do something dreadful to me, Myrtle?"

Myrtle let out a hollow chuckle. "If I was, you would already be on your knees begging me to stop. You know I don't like to waste any time."

"Why have you come then?" Greg asked.

"I need a potion that counter acts your intelligence potion," Myrtle explained, swiftly, strolling around the room. "Young Miss Cooper recently drank it and it appears to be having some deadly side effects."

Greg stared at her wide-eyed for a brief moment before hustling over to the table. "Why, yes, right away." The wizard, hastily, began mixing together ingredients, and briefly glanced at Myrtle, befuddled. "I do not understand why she would take it. I specifically told her not to drink it."

Myrtle sighed. "That's the thing with teenagers from the other world. You tell them to do one thing and they go and do the exact opposite. Believe me, I witness that everyday."

"What a nightmare," Greg commented, as he continued to measure. "Are they all like that?"

Myrtle tilted her head up as she considered. "Some much more than others, but most at least a little." She looked at the wizard and smirked. "Even Princess Aria has her moments."

Greg shook his head, as he poured the completed potion in a small bottle. "Oh, now I refuse to believe that. You would do well not to spread lies about the princess."

Myrtle merely rolled her eyes in response.

The wizard put together the liquid cure within moments. Once completed, he handed the tiny glass bottle to Myrtle, who immediately made her way to the door.

"Thank you, Greg," Myrtle said as she opened the door, without even looking at him.

"Myrtle," the wizard called out, as she stepped one foot outside.

Myrtle turned her head. "Yes, Greg."

"Are the rumors I have been hearing from Galatia true?" he asked. "Have you really changed back to your old self, that is before Evalius?"

Myrtle looked directly into his eyes and sighed. "I will never be that person again, Greg."

Before the wizard had the chance to respond, she left, the door shutting behind her. She used her wand to transport herself to the lake, rapidly, knowing she did not have much time. When Myrtle arrived at the lake she saw a tall figure with long raven hair in a fancy gown. The moment she sensed Myrtle's presence she turned.

Myrtle let out a brief grown. "What do you want, Verna?"

Standing up stiff straight, Verna did not hesitate to get to the point. "There is a matter of urgency I need to speak with you about, Myrtle."

Not interested at all, Myrtle walked to the magical lake, ready to jump in. "Now is really not a good time, Verna. I'm in a bit of a rush. It's a life or death situation."

"Is it Princess Aria?" Verna demanded, horrified.

Myrtle shook her head. "No, it's her friend, Vanessa. She swallowed a bad potion that can be fatal if she doesn't take the antidote on time."

"I see." Verna turned towards the lake. "Very well. In that case I shall accompany you so we can talk on the way."

"Wonderful," Myrtle muttered, sarcastically, under her breath.

The two fairies went through the lake to the other world. They then went to Myrtle's car so she could drive them to the school.

"So what is so important that it cannot wait until later?"

"Something has been stolen from the Temple of Nemesis," Verna stated, directly. "Something quite powerful. We believe someone from our lands stole it."

"Oh dear," Myrtle muttered without enthusiasm.

"This is serious, Myrtle!" Verna snapped. "Whoever it was disappeared. We are unable to track his or her whereabouts. We do not know anything about what they are planning and how it will affect us."

Myrtle sighed, casually. "Well, I seriously doubt it will affect me while I am here in this world."

"Perhaps not, but it could affect the princess and her family in Galatia," Verna stated, firmly. "That is why I need you to come back. We need all the help we can get, and you are more powerful than the other fairies."

Myrtle kept her eyes straight ahead on the rode. This drive seemed to be lasting much longer on the way back.

As she turned the final corner, Verna insisted, "So after you finish caring for young Vanessa, you will meet me back outside so we can leave.

Myrtle shook her head. "I do not recall the part where I agreed to help you."

"You must, Myrtle! It is your duty as part of the Sisterhood of the fairies."

"I thought I was banished from the Sisterhood," Myrtle muttered, darkly.

Verna sighed. "Well yes, you were, but we have considered, since you were the one that rescued Princess Aria and her friends from Evalius, perhaps things can be different. I mean you are good now, right?"

"I would not be so quick to say that," Myrtle mumbled, avoiding her eyes.

"But you did risk your own life to save Princess Aria and her friends from Evalius, as any hero would," Verna pointed out.

As Myrtle pulled into the school parking lot, she said, "Yes, well part of my job as a teacher here is to keep the students safe so that's why I went to rescue them." She put the car in park and pulled out the bottled potion. "And that is also why I need to get this to young Miss Cooper, so if you don't mind, I will be leaving now."

Myrtle got out of the car and began to walk towards the front entrance of the school.

"Myrtle!" Verna called after her, and as Myrtle turned around, she said, "I only need you for a few days. If we find nothing, then you can come right back."

Myrtle let out a huff and looked at the potion in her hands, knowing she did not have the time to stand around and debate.

"Fine," she agreed reluctantly. "But only a few days. I do not want to get tricked into rejoining the Sisterhood. Do you understand?"

Verna nodded and added, "Very well. I will expect to see you tomorrow morning right at sunrise in our world. You can use your wand to track our exact location."

Myrtle sighed and nodded, knowing this will only be the beginning of Verna's bossiness. She had a feeling this will be quite a long week for her.

xXx

After Vanessa drank the cure, Myrtle called her parents saying she was sick and she was sent home. Myrtle said it would take a few days for her to fully recover. Aria was just grateful her best friend was going to be okay.

"I still can't believe she drank that," Kendal said in a huff, as she, Aria, Derek, and Ian made their way to English class. "I mean, what was she thinking?"

Ian shrugged. "I can kind of see why she did it. She got to be pretty smart for a while. It must have felt pretty good."

"If she wants to be smarter, she could actually study more," Kendal grumbled as they entered Myrtle's classroom.

"Well, stuff like that comes more easily for people like you," Ian pointed out. "For people like her, or me, it's a lot harder."

"That doesn't mean you should take the easy way out," Kendal said as she dropped her books on her desk.

"Maybe there is more to it than simply wanting to be smarter," Aria suggested, sitting in the desk behind Kendal.

Kendal turned around and looked at Aria knowing exactly what she meant. "You know, you're probably right. She and Walter really need to talk. I'm going to tell him that after school today."

"Are you going to force them to talk it out?" Ian asked her.

Kendal rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to force anyone to do anything."

"Right, because you never do that," Derek mumbled sarcastically, shooting her a smirk.

Kendal opened her mouth to retort, but before she could, Aria said, "Guys, we should probably get our books out. Class is going to start in like a minute."

Ian reached into his bag. "It's weird that I actually like what we're reading. I mean _Hunger Games_ is a pretty cool book."

"I'm just glad to be reading something that's not _Twilight_," Derek added.

"Or Shakespeare," Ian added. "Its nice to actually comprehend what I am reading for a change."

The bell rang, indicating it was time for class to begin. By now, everyone grew well aware that Myrtle expected silence at this moment. For weeks, she sent anyone still talking out in the hall, mostly Derek and Ian. It was not until she started to give out detentions, the class finally got the message to be quiet.

Myrtle remained leaning back on her high back leather chair, in front of the teacher's desk. She did not necessarily need to stand to get the classes attention anymore. The majority of the class pulled out their _Hunger Games_ books, ready for the discussion.

"You all may as well put those away," Myrtle said. "As of today, we will be discontinuing our study of the Hunger Games. Principal Whiteman said that the book was not advanced enough for High School so beginning this week you will begin reading the Iliad instead."

This was, of course, accommodated by a series of groans and complaints throughout the classroom.

Ian leaned forward, his head briefly on his hands. "This sucks! I actually knew what was going on in the Hunger Games. I've never even heard of the Ilias or whatever it's called." He turned to Kendal and asked, "What is that story?"

"It's an epic poem by Homer about the battle of Troy," Kendal answered, leaning back in her chair with her arms folded.

"From what I heard, these two guys start a ten year war over some chick," Derek added with a snort, clearly not too keen on reading this poem.

"It was because one of those guys _stole_ the other's wife," Kendal pointed out.

"Wait, you said it was about Troy," Ian recalled. "You made me watch some Brad Pitt movie called that with you last year. Do you think watching that is like reading the story?"

Kendal sighed. "I seriously doubt it."

The complaints continued on for another minute, at least. Aria and Kendal exchanged glances, both apparently the only ones aware that fussing about it was not going to do them any good.

Finally Myrtle said, "If everyone is done with their whining, there is one more announcement I would like to make before I begin class today." As the mutters ceased, she added, "I will be out of town for the next few days or so. Starting tomorrow, you will have a substitute. Mr. Stone…"

Before she could even finish, the groans returned to even higher dimensions.

Myrtle sighed and asked, "Is there something wrong with Mr. Stone?"

Nearly half the class had something to say on this.

"He's boring."

"He gives tons of grammar homework."

"His lessons drag on and on."

"I can't stay awake in his class," Ian chimed in.

"All we ever do is grammar," Derek added.

Myrtle shrugged. "Well, you won't be grammar this week since you will be reading _The Iliad_."

The class continued to moan and complain.

"Okay, that's it," Myrtle interjected, rapping her fingers on the desk. "The next person to complain about either circumstance will be out in the hall."

Unfortunately, Derek had started a sentence and just now got it out. "Why can't this class just stay interesting?"

Myrtle sighed, glancing between Derek and the classroom door. "Mr. James, out in the hall."

Derek opened his mouth to protest, but then seemed to decide better not to argue. He let out a brief huff before getting up and trudging to the class exit.

Aria barely glanced in the direction where her boyfriend just shut the door. This was not the first time Derek had been kicked out so she was not overly concerned. What did consume her mind was Myrtle's second announcement. Where could she possibly be going? Surely it must have something to do with the other world. What else could it possibly be? Aria planned to find out the truth after class. When the dismissal bell rang, she remained seated, not even bothering to glad her backpack beside her desk.

"Aria, are you coming?" Kendal asked.

Aria shook her head. "I'm going to find out about Myrtle's sudden vacation plans. You go ahead without me."

She nodded and walked out with everyone else, Ian following behind.

Still sitting at her desk, Myrtle glanced at Aria, not too startled by her presence. "Aria, you might want to go on to your next class. I am not writing you a pass."

Aria shrugged. "That's fine. I really want to talk to you about where you are going. I can just get a tardy."

Myrtle tapped her pen on the desk and raised her eyebrow. "Really? Have you ever had a tardy before?"

"No," Aria admitted. "But I did get detention. You remember that?"

"It wasn't really a detention," Myrtle reminded her. "Besides in this case you will be wasting your time. I'm not going to tell you where I am going."

Aria stood up and walked to the front desk. "It is to the other world, right? I mean where else would it be?"

"Perhaps it is," Myrtle agreed, indifferently.

"Is something going on there?" Aria asked. "I mean, this trip is sudden for you. Something must have happened."

"It is nothing for you to concern yourself with. I'm not even sure I should be concerned. The only reason I'm going is Verna insists," Myrtle replied. "As long as you stay here or in Galatia and mind your business, then you have no reason to concern yourself. It will not affect you at all."

Aria grunted, dissatisfied. _That's exactly what_ _you and everyone said before about…_ Her mind drew a forced blank spot on the exact name. Aria sighed, remembering the potion she recently drank to block memories of the awful place. It seemed to be working. Aria just hoped it did not matter that she drank it in this world rather than Galatia.

_A/N: I am so sorry it took so long to update, especially after that last cliffhanger. Unfortunately, I am having trouble organizing the next few scenes so the next few chapters might take some time as well. There are just so many scenes that need to occur, but I have to figure out the order. Please bare with me. Thanks for reading, and reviews are greatly appreciated. :)_


	7. Chapter 6 Karma

_Chapter 6_

_Karma_

Her head still pounding the next day, Vanessa trudged over to her locker to grab her English books. Aria had met up with Derek outside. She has not spotted any of her other friends yet, not that she made the effort. Vanessa really had no desire to talk to anyone about her potion incident, especially her boyfriend.

"Hey," came the voice from that very person.

Vanessa shut her locker and took in a breath, repeating, "Hey."

"How are you feeling?" Walter asked, softly, looking concerned.

Vanessa shrugged, looking downward. "Better." Her eyes moved up to him, pleadingly. "Can we please talk about something else, anything else?"

Walter sighed, taking a step towards her. "I really think we need to talk about this, Vanessa."

"Look, if you are going to lecture me, don't bother because Kendal already beat you to it," Vanessa vented. "Last night, she called to ask how I was and then ended up shouting at me for being careless."

Walter let out a brief chuckle. "I think that's just her way of showing she cares."

Vanessa snorted. "Yeah, well she can show it a little less for my sanity."

Walter then took in a deep breath and asked, "Why did you do it, Vanessa?"

She huffed, in no need of an explanation on what Walter meant by _it_. "To be smarter."

"Yeah, I got that, but why?" Walter pressed on. "Why is it so important to you?"

"I don't know, Walter," Vanessa mumbled, her head falling downward. "I just thought…"

Walter looked down into her eyes. "Just thought what?"

"I just thought that you would maybe eventually get bored with me since I'm not smart," Vanessa finally forced out.

For a moment, Walter just stared at her, startled by her response, but then replied, softly, "Vanessa, how can you possibly think that? I would never get bored with you. Besides, I never even thought of you as not being smart."

Vanessa raised her eyebrow and even let out a chuckle. "Seriously? I'm barely able to scrape by all my classes with a passing grade and I need help with pretty much all our homework."

"It's just because you're not particularly interested in our classes," Walter pointed out. "That's the main reason I study, because I really am interested in what we're learning, but you're not and that's okay. We all have different interest and skills."

Vanessa sighed and looked back up at him and smiled. "I guess I never really thought about it that way."

Walter grinned and added, "We really should try to talk about these things more. It could save your life."

Vanessa laughed and nudged him. "Okay, but we are never mentioning this particular incident again."

Walter chuckled too and nodded in agreement, as the two hugged.

As they pulled apart, Vanessa added, "You know, I always admired how smart you are, ever since we first met. It was one of the first things I noticed about you."

___Throughout her career, Vanessa had only actually gone to the school library three times and they were all with the class to do research for a school project. She was not exactly keen on the idea of going there now, especially to work on homework, but it beat cheerleading practice. Vanessa doubted she would miss much anyway. It would likely be another session of bickering and squabbling over who would be where in the routines. Also, there was Kendal and Marcy's battle for power. Marcy seemed to think she would be captain and when Kendal was selected instead, she never let it go. Marcy was extremely bossy and had no patience for mistakes. She shouted at one poor girl, for nearly ten minutes, just because she did not get her leg up as high as everyone else. If Marcy had been made captain, Vanessa would have quit after day one._

_ Vanessa pushed open the door to the library to look for Aria's friend. She had seen Walter in school, even though they did not share any classes, so she at least knew what he looked like. Vanessa just hoped he was as nice as Aria said. She was aware her best friend rarely said anything bad about anyone, though Marcy would be an interesting challenge for her. _

_ She spotted Walter sitting at a table off to the side, reading. He did not appear quite as intimidating as Vanessa imagined. She was not sure what to expect when Aria said he was a genius. _

_ She approached his table and greeted, "Hi, I'm Vanessa, Aria's friend." _

_ He looked up from his book, readjusted his glasses, and smiled. "Hi, I'm Walter."_

_ Vanessa set her bag on the table and sat down, unsure of what to say next._

_ "So Aria told me you needed help with homework?" Walter offered for her._

_ "Right!" Vanessa pulled her Science book and homework sheet out of her bag. "It's mainly science. It seems we went over like a hundred facts about plants I didn't even know what half the words meant. I looked at our homework and saw that the first like ten questions were about photosynthesis. I still don't even know what that is!"_

_ "Well, photosynthesis is the process of light energy into chemical energy and storing it in bonds of sugar," Walter explained._

_ Vanessa just stared at him, blankly._

_ "Look at it this way," Walter tried again, grabbing a sheet of paper and pencil. "The light is the actual energy the plants absorb…"_

_ He drew out a picture of the light energy and the plants as he finished explaining._

_ "Oh…" Vanessa studied the picture. "Well, that makes a lot more sense. You should teach our class. I might actually learn something."_

_ Walter chuckled._

_ "Actually," Vanessa went on, "what you should do is go on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. You could win and then you'll never have to work another day in your life."_

_ Walter laughed again but said, "I'm not sure a million dollars will get you as far these days."_

_ "Yeah, you're right." Vanessa sighed as she thought more. "I got it! You go on the show and win, and then use the money to start your own show, Who Wants to be a Billionaire. Then, you would be set for life."_

_ They both laughed and continued to chat for the next for the next forty-five minutes. Somehow, their conversation led to facts verses myths._

_ "You know I haven't stepped on a sidewalk crack in three years," Vanessa said as she set her pencil down._

_ "Why not?" Walter asked, looking at her curiously._

_ "Because it's bad luck," Vanessa answered, eying him. "Don't you know that?"_

_ "Really?" Walter raised his eyebrow as he reviewed, "Just like opening a black umbrella inside, or walking under a ladder, or seeing a black cat, and what did you say happens when pepper is spilt?"_

_ "You have a serious argument with a friend," Vanessa answered, "and let me tell you, every single time I've spilt pepper Kendal and I get into a heated argument, though that seems to happen when I do anything that causes bad luck."_

_ Walter laughed and then wondered aloud, "Do you think we can manage to be friends? We don't seem to agree on anything."_

_ Vanessa thought for a moment and then smiled. "I think we can pull it off. I mean, Kendal and I don't agree anything either and she's one of my best friends." She then stood up and started to repack her bag. "We'll I guess I should go. Both Kendal and karma are probably going to get back at me for purposely ditching cheerleading practice."_

_ Walter could not help but grin. "So you believe in karma, too?"_

_ As Vanessa started to walk away, she turned around and added, "Don't even get me started on karma."_

xXx

"So Myrtle didn't say anything about why she was leaving?" Vanessa asked, sitting across the table from Aria.

Aria shook her head. "No, she refused to tell me. She claimed it has nothing to do with Galatia anyway."

"If it has nothing to do with your land then why does she have to go?" Vanessa inquired on, as she took a bite of her ham sandwich.

Aria shrugged. "I guess it's a fairy thing. I have a feeling Verna is the main reason she is going, or at least that's what Myrtle made it sound like. Verna isn't exactly the kind of person you can just say no to."

"She sounds like Kendal," Vanessa replied with a snort. "I swear, if Kendal tried going a whole day without telling someone what to do, her head would probably explode."

"You would be the expert on ways to explode your head," Kendal's voice came from behind her, and then she set her lunch tray down next to Aria. "So now you're talking about me behind my back?"

"No," Vanessa defended, as the three guys joined their table, Walter sitting beside her. "I was just talking about bossy people in general."

"You did mention her name," Aria reminded her while Derek chuckled.

Kendal rolled her eyes but said, "Fine, but you know, if you had listened to me about the potions the other day, you could have avoided your near death experience yesterday."

"Okay first, you told Ian not to touch them, not me," Vanessa argued, "and second, that near death experience was meant to happen."

"Why would you say that?" Walter asked, just after he swallowed his bite.

"Karma," Vanessa answered, simply.

Sitting on the other side of Kendal, Ian looked at her, startled. "Wait, karma can kill you?"

"Sometimes," Vanessa replied to him.

Again, Kendal rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Karma's not even real. It's just a superstition."

"Oh, karma is real, trust me," Vanessa insisted. "What happened is proof. I tested fate by becoming smarter and that's why I almost died."

"That doesn't even make sense," Kendal argued back. "Do you have any other evidence?"

Vanessa looked up to think. "Well, there was last semester when I got popular for about a month it and then it backfired." She glanced at Kendal. "I had pretty much wished that kind of thing to happen to you but it happened to me instead. There was also one time I took Walter's Biology homework to use it to help me and then the next day I lost my Biology book with the homework in it…"

"You did what?" Walter interjected, clearly unaware of this.

"Don't worry about it. Karma already got me back for that," Vanessa said to him and then looked back to Kendal. "Anyway, I still can't find the book."

Kendal raised her eyebrow. "So that's the real reason you lost your book, karma? It had nothing to do with you being incredibly disorganized?"

"Yes, exactly," Vanessa insisted, turning to her boyfriend. "Come on, even you can't argue with that, Walter."

Walter let out a sigh and suggested, "Vanessa, I think in your case, you might subconsciously self inflict some of these things due to a guilty conscious."

Vanessa gawked at him. "Seriously?"

"Now, that I could believe," Kendal agreed with him, but then tilted her head in thought. "Except it would mean Vanessa would actually have a guilty conscious."

Now, it became Vanessa's turn to roll her eyes.

xXx

After school, Vanessa dug around in her gym locker and grumbled, "Dang, I can't find my knee socks anywhere."

Natalie, one of the girls on the volleyball team, stood by the exit. "I seriously doubt they are going to turn up at this point. We should head on to practice now. You can just buy new ones sometime before the next game."

Vanessa sighed. "I suppose you're right. Let's go."

Just as the two girls started to make their way out, the heard giggling from the other side of the row of lockers. Natalie tiptoed over next to the lockers to hear them better.

Vanessa walked closer to her and mouthed, "What are you doing?"

"It's the cheerleading squad," Natalie whispered. "They always have the best gossip."

Vanessa rolled her eyes but otherwise did not protest. The first voice she recognized was Marcy's.

"I still can't believe Ian actually took Kendal back after she dumped him for that Edmund guy," Marcy gossiped on.

"I thought Ian was the one that dumped her," another girl pointed out.

"Oh, please. You don't actually believe that. He wouldn't dump anyone," Marcy went on, snottily. "That boy has such low standards. He actually dated Vanessa Cooper of all people, remember? _Vanessa Cooper!_"

"That bitch," Vanessa uttered, while Natalie put her finger on her mouth and waved her hand to shush her.

"What's wrong with her?" Another girl asked.

"Don't even get me started. Just be glad you weren't in our middle school for eight grade cheerleading," Marcy said, and then her tone got lower. "Anyway, the reason I brought you three here is because we need to do something about Kendal. She's going way too easy on those freshman cheerleaders and it's causing the whole squad to suffer. With her as captain, we are never going to win the competition this spring. We need a new captain."

"I suppose you are referring to yourself, Marcy," a girl commented. "Besides what can we do? Most of the other girls like Kendal as captain. Its not like we can overthrow her or anything."

"You're right, Stephanie," Marcy agreed, in a hushed tone. "That's why we have to be more sneaky about getting rid of her."

"What are you suggesting?" Stephanie asked, apprehensively.

"Today at practice, when we lift her up, we drop her," Marcy plotted. "We make it look like an accident, of course, but we drop her on her side and hopefully she'll dislocate her shoulder and be out for a most of the year."

Both Vanessa's and Natalie's jaws dropped.

"Are you sure about this, Marcy?" the other girl asked.

"Yes," Marcy said, firmly. "It's the only way we will have a chance at winning anything. Now, are you with me?"

Vanessa didn't hear any verbal agreement, but she imagined the other girls silently nodding. She then heard the footsteps on the other side gradually grow softer and softer. Within moments, she heard the door to the outside shut, meaning they were gone.

"Wow," Natalie commented. "That was crazy."

"I know. Cheerleaders are evil," Vanessa added.

"Well, we should probably get to practice," Natalie said, walking towards the door. "The others are likely wondering where the heck we are."

"Yeah," Vanessa mumbled, starting to follow, but then her feet forced a halt. "Wait, I should go warn Kendal first."

Natalie looked at her, bewildered. "Why?"

Vanessa let out a breath and shrugged. "Well, she's kind of my friend, now."

"Wow, Kendal Lewis is your friend," Natalie replied in an awed tone. "After nearly two years of hearing you bitch about her, I never thought I'd hear you say that."

"Yeah, well, weird things happen," Vanessa muttered as she headed towards the outside door. "Tell the other girls I'll be right there."

Vanessa barely heard Natalie say 'ok,' as she pushed the door open and went outside to the field. Holding her hand up to block the sunlight, she spotted the cheerleading squad stretching by the football field. They would always practice outside on days when the football team didn't have practice. Vanessa saw Kendal had pulled Penny aside to talk. A couple other freshman girls stood close by.

As Vanessa got closer she heard Kendal saying, "Now Penny, we're not going to have any tears today, right? Remember, it's not a big deal if you don't pick up a move right away. You just have to keep practicing it at your own pace and you'll eventually get it. Okay?"

Penny started to nod, but then her eyes moved passed Kendal and she waved. "Hi Vanessa!"

Vanessa waved back, briefly, and smiled. "Hey, Penny."

Kendal turned around, startled. "Hey, Vanessa. Uh, what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you," Vanessa stated, getting straight to the point.

"Does it have to be now?"

Vanessa shrugged. "Well, its probably better I tell you now than later."

Kendal huffed and turned to the other Penny and the other two freshmen. "Go ahead and start without me. I'll be there in a second." She then turned back to Vanessa. "What is it?"

As Vanessa leaned in closer and revealed Marcy's intentions, she noticed in the corner of her eye, Penny knelt down close by tying her shoe. She seriously doubted the young freshman cheerleader was listening so she didn't worry about it. Penny stood up and dashed down the small hill next to her friends for practice.

After Vanessa finished, Kendal just gawked at her in disbelief. "I don't think she's actually going to do anything. You remember what Marcy is like. She said stuff like that all the time."

"I don't know, she sounded pretty serious this time," Vanessa said. "Also, she actually convinced people to go along with her this time."

"Sure she did," Kendal muttered and began to turn around. "Was that it because I really need to get to practice now?"

Vanessa folded her arms. "You are not going to take me seriously, are you? Fine, I'll be sure to visit you in the hospital later to say 'I told you so.'"

Kendal rolled her eyes. "For god's sake, Vanessa. Marcy wouldn't actually dare…"

Her sentence was cut off but a loud screech, followed shortly by a thump on the ground and a wallow of pain. Both Vanessa and Kendal turned their heads to see Marcy lying on the ground, clutching her left shoulder in pain. Penny ran back up the hill towards them.

"Kendal!" Penny panted, her hand on her chest to catch her breath. "I heard what Vanessa said to you about Marcy's plan so I convinced a few of the girls to do it to her instead."

For a moment, Kendal gaped at her, at a loss for words but then managed to choke out, "You did WHAT?"

"Well…" Penny nervously fidgeted with the ends of her ponytail. "Its just that Vanessa gave me some good advice that, um, when someone is planning to do something to you, you should do it do them first before they have the chance. I didn't want Marcy to do it to you so I did it to her first."

Kendal looked back to Vanessa, for a moment and then to Penny and finally Marcy. Vanessa had a dreadful feeling she was going to hear more about her ill-witted advice to Penny later.

Kendal briefly put her hand on her head to get her thoughts together and then turned to Penny. "I'm going to call the ambulance. "Go tell the other girls not to move her and give her some air while we're waiting."

Penny nodded and darted back towards the group. Kendal pulled out her phone from her bag and called an ambulance.

"Well, that's karma," Vanessa commented as Kendal hung up. She then started to walk off, but turned to add, "Oh, and Walter can't say I sub-psychologically self inflicted this, or whatever he said, because this had nothing to do with me."

"Where are you going?" Kendal demanded.

"I have to get to volleyball practice," Vanessa said. "Like I said, this has nothing to do with me. It's a cheerleading problem."

With that, Vanessa walked away, leaving the chaos behind her, without looking back.


	8. Chapter 7 Long Lost Memory

**_A/N: I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who is reading this for your patience. I am so sorry it took so long to get back to this. Fortunately, now that's its summer, I have more time to focus. My goal this summer is to get this story completed. Thank you again and I hope you enjoy this chapter. _**

_Chapter 7_

_Long Lost Memory_

"I mean, seriously, Vanessa, what were you thinking?" Kendal raged on the next day during lunch. "Why would you give that kind of advice to a cheerleader?"

Vanessa groaned and glanced at the clock up on the wall. It felt as though lunch should be over by now but only fifteen minutes have passes. She imagined if Kendal were an evil witch in the fairy tale world her power would be to slow down time so she could make torturing her victims seem longer. She then glanced at the rest of her table, who all seemed to have checked out of the conversation. Even Aria, who usually tried to stop their arguments, just sat quietly.

"Are you listening to me?" Kendal demanded as Vanessa turned her head back.

Vanessa let out an exasperated huff. "Oh my god, I can't believe you are actually still mad at me about this. You know that could have been you that dislocated her shoulder if Marcy had her way."

"I'm not mad at you, Vanessa," Kendal said, putting her hand on her head and letting out a sigh.

Vanessa raised her eyebrow and then let out a hollow chuckle. "Oh, I'm sorry. You yelling at me for the past twenty minutes had me confused."

"I'm just frustrated that's all," Kendal insisted, struggling to keep her tone level. "It's just that the competition is in less than two months. I can't afford to lose people right now."

Vanessa shrugged. "Just recruit another freshman. I'm sure are several who would do anything to get on the squad."

Kendal sighed. "There isn't enough time to teach someone completely new all the moves. I'm already having a hard enough time with the freshman I have now. Some of them didn't even do cheerleading in middle school." She paused to look Vanessa directly in the eye. "I need someone who has experience or at least knows the basic moves so they could pick up the new ones fast."

Vanessa stared at her blankly for just a moment before catching on to Kendal's intentions.

"Oh no… no." Vanessa shook her head, repeatedly. "Do not even think of it. There is no way!"

Aria glanced back and forth between the two, puzzled, before asking, "What do you want her to do?"

"She wants me to take Marcy's place," Vanessa answered first before eying Kendal. "Isn't that right?"

"It would only be until Marcy recovers," Kendal said, persistently.

"Yeah, not happening," Vanessa stated, flatly, as realization suddenly hit her. "That's what this is really about, isn't it? You're trying to make me feel guilty about what happened so you can manipulate me into feeling obligated to join the squad."

Kendal rolled her eyes. "Oh, for god's sake, Vanessa. I am not trying to manipulate you. You're being overdramatic as always."

"You're the one who's always manipulative," Vanessa shot back.

"That is not true." Kendal turned to her boyfriend and tapped his arm. "Ian, tell her I'm not manipulative."

Looking startled, Ian briefly glanced at his girlfriend before turning to Vanessa. "Uh, she's not…" He turned his head back to Kendal, "Wait, what do you want me to say?"

Clearly seeing that this was not going to help her case, Kendal huffed. "Never mind." She turned back to Vanessa. "Is there something I can do to get you to change your mind on this?"

Vanessa shook her head. "There is nothing on this planet you can offer me that will get me on that squad."

"I'll do your homework for you?" Kendal offered, throwing Vanessa off guard.

As Vanessa stared at her blankly, caught off guard, Walter interjected, "Wait, Vanessa don't…"

"For how long?" Vanessa asked, ignoring her boyfriend.

Kendal shrugged. "I don't know. A week, maybe?"

Vanessa chuckled and shook her. "No way, it's got to be at least a year before I consider it."

Once again, Kendal rolled her eyes. "No way! That's ridiculous. How about a month?"

Vanessa smacked her hand on the table. "The rest of this school year."

"Until Marcy fully recovers and is back on the squad," Kendal finally said. "That's fair, right? As long as you're on the cheerleading squad, you don't have to worry about homework."

Vanessa looked up and thought for a moment before nodding. "Fine, deal. So do I have to go get a uniform measured for me or something?"

Kendal shook her head and waved her hand. "Oh don't worry about that. I already got one measured for you. It should be ready this afternoon." She then looked down at her place and stood up. "I'm going to get some more napkins."

As Kendal walked away, Vanessa stared after her in disbelief and then looked at the rest of the group. "How did she even get my measurements?"

No one provided her with an answer.

xXx

Kendal never really cared much for hospitals, so the fact that she was currently walking down the hall of one now just to give homework to a girl who despised her would likely baffle most. Kendal wondered if Marcy actually planned to purposely land her in this place instead. This would not be the first time Vanessa made that sort of claim against Marcy. Back in eighth grade, the topic came up but Kendal never took it seriously. There were times when she herself was tempted to drop both girls on the ground, but she, of course, never actually did it.

Recalling what the nurse said, Kendal stopped at Room 116. She took in a deep breath, before opening the door. Kendal found Marcy sitting upright on the bed, staring vaguely at the television, currently airing a rerun of Gossip Girl. She looked rather out of it. Kendal imagined she was on a lot of painkillers at the moment.

At the sound of the door, Marcy tilted her head. "What are you doing here?"

Kendal held up the pile of books and folders and set them down on the desk beside her. "I brought you your make-up work. Someone had to do it."

"Fine." Marcy briefly eyed the stack before looking back to Kendal. "You can leave now."

Kendal ignored her statement and asked, "Were you really planning on dropping me on purpose during practice?"

Marcy huffed and demanded, "Who told you that?"

Kendal looked down at the floor and muttered, "Vanessa said she heard you plotting that in the girls' locker room."

Marcy raised her eyebrow. "And you're taking Cooper's word over mine?"

"Uh, yeah," Kendal replied, thinking that had to be one of the easiest questions ever asked.

"It should have been you anyway," Marcy mumbled, looking back at the television.

Kendal sighed and started to head for the door. "I'm going to assume that was just the pain killers talking. I have to go anyway."

"So who's taking my place?" Marcy asked, just as Kendal's hand touched the door.

"Vanessa," Kendal replied with a smirk, knowing Marcy would not like it.

"Seriously?" Marcy commented with a snort and added, "Cooper may have been good, but she's unreliable, remember? She'll likely quit again right before the competition."

When Kendal turned around to look at her sharply, Marcy just raised her eyebrow and said, "You know I'm right."

Unable to think of anything else to say, Kendal just walked out, the door slamming behind her.

xXx

The next morning, Vanessa walked across the street to Aria's house and knocked on the door. She tried not to think about what her life will be like for the next few weeks with cheerleading since that would only put her in a foul mood. She definitely did not want to take out her frustrations on Aria. Vanessa decided she would rather take it out on Kendal during their first practice.

When the door opened, it was not Aria that answered but instead her mom.

"She's coming, Vanessa," Elizabeth said with a hint of exasperation. "She just overslept a bit and ran late."

Vanessa frowned. It's been a while since Aria overslept. Vanessa remembered her friend telling that she has never been able to sleep the same since she awoke from her sleeping curse. She did not ponder on it too long, thinking it was good that Aria was finally sleeping better again.

A few minutes later, Aria appeared looking rather groggy.

"Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Vanessa greeted with a grin. "It's been a while since you've slept like that."

"Really? It doesn't seem that long," Aria muttered, rubbing her eyes.

Vanessa glanced at her, curiously. She noticed Aria seemed a bit disoriented and out of it. She then shrugged, figuring its not that unusual behavior for someone who just woke up.

"What is with the sleeping beauty jokes anyway?" Aria suddenly asked. "You and my dad both made a similar remark about it. Also, when I woke up, I found one of my parents had put a sleep mask on me that said, 'Sleeping Beauty.'"

Vanessa frowned. "I thought you said Derek gave you that mask."

Aria stopped walking and stared at her best friend, blankly. "Derek James? Why would he give me anything?"

"Um… because he's your boyfriend?" Vanessa responded, raising her eyebrow.

Aria gawked at her, looking horrified. "What? Is this your idea of a joke?"

"Are you feeling okay, Aria?"

"Vanessa, this is seriously starting to get old," Aria said, letting out a huff, as she resumed walking. "You and Walter have been making jokes for weeks about Derek liking me."

"That was a long time ago," Vanessa muttered, feeling dazed as she tried to figure out in her mind what was going on with Aria.

"No, it really wasn't," Aria replied, sounding frustrated. "You two finally stopped like week ago when I started dating Edmund."

Vanessa drew in a piercing breath at the sound of that name.

"Aria," she began, cautiously, "do you remember anything about… um, Galatia?"

Aria turned and looked at her best friend, blankly.

"What's Galatia?"


End file.
